For almost eight years straight, Rotuman farmer Pat Veu has dominated the Farmers Show yam and taro categories and this year, the 69-year-old did it again.
Speaking to this newspaper, Mr Veu said he was grateful for the win and acknowledged those who had supported him in preparing his crops for the annual competition.
“I have people who supported me to do the planting and the nurturing of the plants,” Mr Veu said.
“And I’m so thankful to those supporters, because at my age its becoming increasingly hard to do all the work myself.”
Mr Veu’s heaviest yams this year weighed 107 kilograms and 106 kilograms.
He said both were from the Filipai yam variety and placed first and second in that category.
He said when he first entered, he only managed to score one point but continued to improve each year.
“Then the second year, it improved a bit. From then on, I continued to win the taro.”
He said while he had mainly won the taro category over the years, he had managed to win both the yam and taro categories last year and again this year.
“But if anything that I want to come out of this winning, it is to pass on the skills to the younger generation.
“And also for the families, at least for food security.
“Maximising the usage of the backyard little spaces to produce good crops every year.”
He said backyard farmers association on Rotuma had produced yams weighing up to 183 kilograms, while the record for taro stood at 15 kilograms.
Mr Veu said a consistent effort was important in farming.
“I believe everything that you do, you need to work hard, you need to work smart, and you need to be consistent with what you do.
“And I think planting, some would say this is how you do it, you do it every year, but you need to improve.”
