$1.03m to assist farmers harvest cane manually
Eight thousand three hundred and thirty-six sugarcane farmers have been paid $1.03million by Fiji Sugar Corporation Ltd (FSC) to alleviate the financial burden they face when harvesting their crops manually.
FSC boss Bhan Singh said each grower had been paid $1 per tonne for all manually harvested cane, as support towards labour challenges in the industry.
“The manual harvest program, introduced as part of the 2023/2024 budget, aimed to alleviate the financial burden on growers who engage in manual harvesting,” he said.
“This initiative has been sought to mitigate the rising costs of manual labour in the cane harvesting process.
Sugarcane growers have been facing mounting difficulties securing manual labour for harvesting in recent years.
“The heightened demand for harvesting rates from the limited labour pool has aggravated financial burdens on growers, who also incur additional expenses for labour provisions such as food, accommodation, and utilities,” Mr Singh said.
In the Lautoka area, 1924 farmers have received assistance, 2833 in Rarawai, 2621 in Labasa and 958 farmers in Rakiraki.
Source Link: https://www.fijitimes.com.fj/1-03m-to-assist-farmers-harvest-cane-manually/
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