Nursery Kits: What it Means to Those Impacted by the COVID-19 Pandemic
Aformer hotel worker cannot wait to go into large scale farming after receiving a nursery kit.
Ilaisa Liganivai Vuinakelo was among 54 recipients who received the kits thanks to a collaboration between the Ministry of Agriculture and the British High Commission.
Each kit contains: one roll 50 per cent shylon shade (16mtr), one roll UV resistant plastic (16 mtr), 43 lengths of PVC pipes, 38 reinforcement rods, one coil binding wire, two elbows-40 plastic clips, one seed package containing five commodities and one drumstick seedling. It will assist those who had been economically-impacted by COVID-19 to turn to agriculture as a livelihood.
This is part of the ministry’s Food Security and Accelerated Agriculture Growth Plan (FSAAGP) aimed at rebuilding and accelerating agriculture in response to COVID-19 and the recent tropical cyclones.
Accelerate work
Mr Vuinakelo’s wife also worked in the tourism industry and was also laid off.
He has a one-acre farm in his village in Navakai adding that he started off with root crops and vegetables.
“I have planted cassavas and some small scale farming,” the father of four said.
“I am really glad that receiving this assistance from the Ministry of Agriculture and British High Commissioner will help me provide for larger scale production.
“This has been a boost especially
in food security for my family and also as a whole socially and economically.”
Bina Bikashni Lal, 34, of Barara Flats on Valley Road, Sigatoka said: “It’s my first time to do farming. “It’s very hard for me, because sometimes it rains and sometimes it’s too hot and I cannot work on the farm. Before I used to sit in the
shade and work.”
She used to work in a gift shop in Sigatoka while her family ran a DVD shop until COVID-19 impacted her work and business.
Ms Lal was forced to work on reduced hours until she eventually had to leave employment altogether.
She said her husband and son would help her set up her nursery. Mrs Lal will plant seedlings and flowers in her nursery.
Joeli Vatavehi received the nursery kit on behalf of the Nawamagi Village Group
He said the assistance would motivate the group members to continuously plant non-stop as the nursery would protect the seedlings and plants from the elements.
He said his 15 group members were all farmers and used to supply their produce to the hotel until COVID-19 hit the tourism sector. He said they now were taking their produce to the Sigatoka Market to sell to make ends meet.
Mr Vatavehi said the group were trialing out small greenhouses they had built in the village.
They had cucumber and beans already nurtured there and the nursery kits they received would greatly boost the existing production.
The partnership
The handover was done by the British High Commissioner to Fiji, George Edgar at the Legalega Research Station on Thursday.
“In October 2020, the UK Government through its International Programme provided funding assistance up to $53,860 to the Ministry of Agriculture to strengthen the resilience of Government’s crop nurseries,” Mr Edgar said.