From Cushy Job To Canefields
Switching from a cushy white collar job to soiling your hands in cane farming has been the order of the day for Rajnesh Rajan Naicker.
The 42-year old qualified accountant of Buabua, Lautoka, had no second thought when he turned to cane farming.
He holds a masters in business administration with managerial work experience in a major retail supermarket. Mr Naicker owns 25 acres of land. “When I came here, what used to be cane farms years ago was all bush with trees,” he said.
“I set about with some labourers clearing the land, and now have 12 acres under cane farm, averaging about 400 tonnes annually.”
Mr Naicker said he learnt to rely on more than one commodity, and has since diversified into cattle, vegetable and poultry businesses.
Back up plan
“You never know the fluctuation price of sugar, so it’s good to have back up and diversification,” he said.
“It was hard labour starting off as a cane farmer, and learning the tricks of the trade. “Sometimes you want to give up. “But I have leant to get over this and just put my mind to getting the job done.”
Mr Naicker lives on the farm with his wife, a bank officer and two daughters.
“It’s good having a good job and sitting back, but I have learnt you must always have a backup income generating business.
“COVID-19 has highlighted this with many people losing their jobs and nothing to fall back on.
“There is a lot of cane farms lying idle, and agriculture farms people can get into.
“Sitting at home will not help your family,” Mr Naicker said.