The intent of the Rise beyond the Reef farming ventures has garnered praise, as it complements the Ministry of Agriculture’s main priority of expanding commercial agriculture.
This was shared by Minister for Agriculture, Waterways and Environment Dr. Mahendra Reddy earlier this week in Marinitawa, Ba while launching two farmers’ clusters supported by local non-governmental organisation Rise Beyond The Reef.
The Rise Beyond The Reef Marinitawa Farmers’ Cluster and Rise Beyond The Reef Yakete Cluster comprising of 150 women from the village of Yakete in Ba was launched by Minister Reddy.
“What you are doing fits in well with our number one strategic objective, which is expanding commercial agriculture so we are very pleased to be here today to witness the launch of your cluster,” he said.
“For any venture to be successful, you must keep all the data recorded safely. Although I understand that you have free labor that you are using, I suggest that you draw up proper financial records and labour costs so that you can determine what the profit scenario would look like if you were without that labour.”
In addition, the Minister highlighted the importance of treating farms and agricultural projects as businesses rather than social projects since the risk of the project collapsing was high due to a lack of project guidelines drawn up at the outset.
“I am glad that you have chosen crops such as turmeric, ginger, cassava, and I recommend that you also consider planting duruka and squash, since there is a high demand for squash in the export market.”
Minister Reddy has also offered the Rise Beyond the Reef farmers' cluster a second-hand tractor with a two-disc plough to assist with land preparation. The cluster has been informed to pay for a third of the cost at $5,500.00 to receive the tractor.
The Ministry of Agriculture will also assist the cluster and group with organic agricultural practices to ensure the turmeric grown by the cluster remain organic.
Minister Reddy advised the clusters to use organic manure to fertilise their fields instead of chemical fertilisers, stating that the Ministry would also provide Bacterium Culture to boost their composting efforts and upscale their organic manure for their farm use.
“We’re happy to provide this support,” he said.
Rise Beyond The Reef Co-Founder Semi Lotawa acknowledged the advice given by Minister Reddy and said “Thank you for the words of advice you gave for us; this is a new path for us, and regardless of how we do it, we aim to contribute to reviving Fiji's agriculture sector, from the highlands to the sugarcane belts.”