A large-scale Ba cane farmer has called for an urgent roundtable meeting with Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka, warning that Fiji’s sugar industry is on the brink of collapse after an estimated 80,000 tonnes of sugarcane were left unharvested last season.
Speaking before Parliament’s Standing Committee on Natural Resources in Ba this week, Arvind Singh criticised the industry’s management, claiming four years of poor leadership had left farmers struggling.
Mr Singh urged the Government to bring together political leaders, including Fiji Labour Party leader Mahendra Chaudhry and Opposition MP Praveen Bala, to develop a united strategy to revive the industry.
“We want to harvest the cane,” he said.
“Farmers are suffering and working very hard. Last season, the Lautoka Mill faced disruptions and farmers faced immense difficulties. Nobody from Parliament came to visit the farmers or see how they were surviving.”
Mr Singh also called for the immediate release of cane parity payments held by the Fiji Sugar Corporation and urged the appointment of a local FSC chairman who understood the challenges faced by growers.
In response committee member and Parliament Member Professor Biman Prasad defended the Coalition Government’s record, saying farmers had received the highest cane prices in the country’s history over the past three seasons.
He said the Government had increased assistance for manual harvesting, continued subsidies for key farm inputs and remained committed to listening to farmers while addressing industry challenges through established institutional processes.
