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By Kuini Waqasavou- Ministry of Primary Industries Falling again and again in whatever field he takes, 54-year-old Leslie Vatucawaqa says that he is not about to give up yet. The staunch believer in life is about the survival of the fittest says that there were countless times in his life when he was going to give up altogether, but the fighting spirit in him motivated him to continue. Way back in 1978, Leslie was working in the capital city doing odd jobs here and there and when a recruitment drive for the Fiji Military Forces was advertised, he decided to try it out. With high hopes, Leslie attended the interview only to be disheartened a few weeks later that his name was not included in the intake list. “Right there and then, I felt that the whole world had closed in on me and I went around for a few days moping around but then I thought to myself that I had just about had enough,” he said. “I packed up my bags and headed back to my village in Vunisinu, Rewa where I decided to take up farming instead,” he smiled. “That has got to be the wisest decision that I have made in my entire life and I am grateful for the common sense that I had,” he laughed.
With his grave face and sombre attitude, one look at him and you can picture the mountains that he has climbed to get to where he is today. Leslie’s seven acres land in the village is what you can classify as swampy land and nothing planted could last long. “I have to admit that farming for a lot of the villagers has proved futile as the high tide brings in a lot of excessive water and it floods the whole field, spoiling all the crops.” So the journey for the hardworking man began going uphill and it continued for many years. “I began rice farming as there were a lot of farmers in the village that was planting rice for home consumption only but I decided that I was going to practice it on a large-scale,” he explained. “Despite all the warnings that I had from family members, I decided to face it head on as I wanted to prove a point to myself as well,” he said. “I was assisted by government then but there wasn’t much hope as I did not have a lot of money to carry out the necessary drainage works needed to clear my field of flood waters.” There and then Leslie thought a great deal of his family since he had started his own by that time as well after moving into the village. “I knew that I had to continue farming no matter what as it was the only way that I could feed my family,” he explained earnestly. No amount of setbacks could deter him for his strive towards an improved life for him and his family and Leslie took up other options for earning a living but farming never left his mind. During the weekends, he got back to farming and dug drains by himself to ease the flow of water towards his farm. “Now that is a great deal of work and with the help of my family and friends from the village, I managed to do something but it was not enough.” Leslie continued this trend till he began harvesting good crops for his family and some of it to the local markets. “It was not enough, but it was something and it was the driving force that I needed to continue with my farm,” he smiled. It was non-stop work for Leslie and his sons as they continued their efforts on the farm. After a few discussions and visits by the agriculture officials in Lakena, Leslie finally got his lucky break. Acting Agriculture Officer (Rewa) Adriano Tabualevu said that the hard work put in by Leslie and his family was evident as they produced a lot even if there were so many set backs. “That is where we decided to put together a paper for him so that he could be assisted under the Rural and Outer Islands Project.” “After a long wait, we finally got everything together this year and we provided $16,000 on drainage works alone for his seven acres of farm land.” True as it was, much work was needed to complete his new structure for the farm, but the determined farmer was adamant too see that work on the farm did not come to s standstill. “I have to admit that it was an exciting time for me, my family and my other relatives because finally we were going to have a farm that was cleared off from the excessive sea water that seeped in during high tide,” he explained. After farm drains were completed, Leslie wasted no time in his land preparation and planting phases. “I was introduced to farming on raised beds because we cannot stop the water from flowing in but we can at least control its spread on the crops.” “I began planting dalo and watermelon and I have to say that they are both growing so well and when there is high tide, the water just travels on the drains that have been dug around the plots and then out again.” The farmer is now breathing a sigh of relief and says that he is grateful to the Agriculture Department for assisting him in this area. “That is why I never gave up in the first place because I knew that something good was going to happen to us,” he smiled. With drains all around his farm and spaced between his field, Leslie has decided to plan his farming activities with renewed vigour. “Oh! I just don’t know where to start because I have a million things that I always dreamed of achieving on the farm and now I can do it!” he laughed. “What is there to stop me?” The determined farmer is just grateful that he never gave in after facing so many hardships. “It’s been a learning experience for me all along and I know if I can do it so can others who are thinking of farming for a living but are having second thoughts.” Leslie hopes to start planting vegetables and to venture into pawpaw farming for export. “I hear that it’s worthwhile but all it needs is a lot of dedication and sacrifices and I know that I have what it takes to persevere in life,” he smiled. Ends |
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