Fiji must diversify
PROFESSOR Naidu is correct and there would be many Fijian politicians and economists nodding their heads in agreement that for Fiji to survive economically, it must diversify. Having visited your country for over 19 years and owning a villa in Fiji, I have come to respect and appreciate Fiji and its way of life.
Fiji is totally dependent on both tourism and agriculture for most of its income. Q. What is the biggest killer in the world? Ans. Probably what you are doing right now. Sitting. Yes, sitting contributes to diabetes, heart attacks, strokes obesity and cancer, to name a few.
Physical activities are so important to health whether it be work activities, farming, fishing or sporting activities, all burnup calories and prevent overweight obesity.
Can you imagine the Fijian lifestyle when the whole economy was based on physical activity and there were no cars or busses to transport people anywhere? Everybody walked.
Can you imagine Fijian society before the introduction of white flour, white rice and white sugar - the three major contributor to diabetes?
Brown rice is actually, along with wholemeal flour, good for you and sugar cane in its natural original form of sugar cane juice as it contains all the nutrient that is in the sugar cane but when it is processed, it becomes white poison.
Every Fijian is familiar with the biblical saying, “As you sow, so shall ye reap” (What you put out, you get back). The Hindu religion is based on Karma (cause and effect).
One of the laws of quantum physics states that for every action, there has to be an opposite and equal reaction.
Fiji is exporting white poison all over the world and at home, Fiji has the highest rate per head of diabetes in the world. How many arms and legs were amputated last year in Fiji?
I know that the Fijian Government is deeply concerned with its problem.
What follows is some solutions to the diabetic problem and a way to diversify the economy.
If Fiji could export sugar cane juice as a sweetener, it could help reduce the diabetes problem.
Fiji has the most delicious lemon juice in the world. If you combine sugar cane juice and lemon juice with water, you can create one of the biggest selling natural healthy and addictive drinks in the world. Another solution is to create alternative crops to sugar cane,
Chick Peas or as it’s called in the middle east, “poor men’s meat”.
A by-product of chickpeas is humus, which is growing more and more popular worldwide. One other solution for the world’s growing food shortage is soya beans. China imports most of its soya beans from Brazil, which has a similar climate as Fiji.
Lentils. India’s growing population will require more food. Can a lentil be introduced as a suitable crop to harvest in Fiji?
There is a major food crisis facing the world with a population increasing and available arable land are decreasing. Fiji is a wealthy country if it could only cultivate the land available.
With more students graduating from university, serious thought must be put into how the above projects can be researched and developed.