Farmers plea for help

THE Natural Disaster and Management Office is advising members of the public and motorists to be careful in floodprone areas.

The advice comes as the country heads into the middle of the cyclone season.

The people of Naitasiri, a dalo exporting province and home to dairy suppliers, are concerned about their farms considering the heavy rain over the past weekend.

Akuila Nasi, a farmer of Nabena in Matailobau, has resided in the village for more than four years and during the course of his stay he has witnessed the aftermath of many heavy rainfalls.

Mr Nasi, a dalo and a cattle farmer, said this weather pattern usually occurs two to three times a year.

“Nowadays, whenever it rains heavily overnight, we expect flooding to follow through,” he said.

“We plant dalo and have livestock grazing on the land and they’re our source of income and livelihood.

“In October last year, 3000 dalo were affected and it cost me more than $2000.”

Fellow farmer Sitiveni Osonara from Waidracia in Rara, Naitasiri, shared similar concerns. He and his brothers toil their mataqali land as a business venture and source of livelihood for their individual families.

They stopped adding fertilisers and agrichemicals to their land because of the unpredictable weather.

“In Suva, there’s a scarcity of dalo in the market, along with price hikes, our struggles need to be considered,” Mr Osonara said.

“The unpredictable weather is forcing us against tending to our farms. And whenever there’s heavy rainfall, we have to take our animals to higher ground. If we’re too late, there’s a high risk of losing them.”

Last year they planted 1000 dalo tops, but 800 were spoiled by the poor drainage system.

“Before we used to plant 8000 dalo, nowadays we plant only 4000, because we can’t risk planting too many only to have them spoiled,” said Mr Osonara, adding climate change may also be a contributing factor.

Vasiti Valatia, a woman farmer from Nadarivatu who’s married into Nauluwai, has been farming for more than 18 years. She and her family plant pineapples, cassava, dalo and are also cattle farmers.

They have to swim from one side of the village to reach their farm on the other side of the river.

She said, considering the weather, it was unsafe for her, especially when trying to transport all her produce to the village.

Ms Valatia is a market vendor and crop supplier to local markets and exporters and, along with other farmers, she is requesting government assistance to widen channels and deepen rivers to help alleviate flooding.