Farmer opts for farm life, not handouts

AFTER being stuck in Lautoka for more than three weeks, Cirisobu settlement resident Manasa Butoni cannot wait to get back to his farm in the highlands of Ba.

He said his farmhouse was a cave and he and his wife spent days there while tending to their farm.

Mr Butoni said after seeing what people had to go through to receive government assistance, he would rather work on the farm than stand in line to get State handouts.

“I would rather survive on the hard work I do that puts sweat on my brow,” he said.

“We don’t want to rely on anyone. Even though I haven’t been working since April, it doesn’t matter to me because I can still take care of my family.

“I have a farm near my village and my wife and I have been spending three or four days at the farm planting our own food.

“It’s a lot of hard work and challenging at times but we are still putting food on the table.”

Mr Butoni said he was working hard on the farm planting cassava, dalo and yaqona and said his crops should be ready when the country beat the virus.