Fiji : Lifeline for farmers
The Sugar Cane Growers Fund, established in the 1940s, has been vital to Fiji’s sugar industry, providing loans and support to farmers. CEO Raj Sharma highlighted its role in farm cultivation, education, and welfare. With affordable interest rates, it remains a financial lifeline, helping generations of farmers and their families achieve stability and growth.
The Sugar Cane Growers Council has been a longstanding stakeholder of Fiji’s sugar industry.
Since its establishment in the late 1940s, the Growers Fund, as it is commonly known, has been assisting farmers grow, revive and even expand its services to real estate, all while ensuring the cane farmer is able to access much-needed funds.
The fund originated in 1946 when there was a need for Commonwealth sugar exporting countries, such as Fiji to establish and set aside reserve funds from the increase in sugar price to take care of rehabilitation works or the Sugar Cane Price Support Fund.
This week, fund CEO Raj Sharma shared the company’s policies through The Fiji Times Online Portal The Lens @177, where he said the fund has grown from strength to strength since its inception almost 80 years ago.
“The Sugar Cane Growers Fund plays a very important role when we look at the sugar industry. Since its inception, from 1947 to up till now, we’re looking at almost 77 or 78 years,” said Mr Sharma.
“It has played an important role since its establishment, during the CSR time and until deductions were made from the millers and as well as the farmers to stabilise the price and pay them when the price was low.
“So, it continued from 1948 until 1959 and there were some awards given to make the deductions and later on, the millers (FSC) pulled out their share.
“So, it virtually indirectly remains the farmers’ contributions.”
Later, it moved to the Ministry of Finance. From there, the Sugarcane Support Fund was established. After that, it became the Sugarcane Growers Fund Authority.
Mr Sharma said the fund was legislated in the 1980s when the Sugar Cane Growers Fund Act was passed by the then government.
“In 1984, it got its Act, and as we know, we report to the Ministry of Sugar, and through the Ministry of Sugar, we got the governance structure and the board.”
The Sugar Cane Growers Fund Authority (Fund) was established by Act No. 9 of 1984 enacted by the Parliament of Fiji on July 26, 1984,” he said.
The name was changed to Sugar Cane Growers Fund by the Amendment Act 12 of 1996.
Mr Sharma said the Act allowed the fund to provide loans for registered farmers.
“So, it means it’s like the farmers’ substitute as a bank, giving everything and anything for the farmers’ needs, basically, on the cane farm,” he said.
“That means planting, harvesting, cultivation, rehabilitation of the farm, farmhouses, medical needs, you name it, education and everything for the farmers.
“So, over the years, I would say it had small loans being granted to the farmers.”
Mr Sharma said in 1997, the fund was decentralised.
“So, that’s where we’ve got all the district offices, Labasa,” he said.
“I also had an opportunity to start off in Labasa in 1997 and from there, it was picked up to bring the services to the cane belt areas.”
Mr Sharma said the fund became the main loans facility for farmers by 1999 when banks became reluctant to do so.
“You would also know that banks refrained from giving loans to the farmers because of the lease issues,” he said.
“Had it not been so, it could have been a very difficult situation for the farmers.”
Since then. Mr Sharma said, the fund has made a generational impact on farmers and their families.
“So, until now, it has continued to play a very significant role for the farmers and their families,” he said.
“A number of their children have gone through university because of these institutions, and it looked after the welfare of the farmers at very affordable interest rates. All those things played a very important role.
“When we look at our loan portfolio, and also when we look at the categories of the loan, and when we look at annual approval loans, 60 to 70 per cent of the loan is given towards farm cultivation or usage on the farm. About 25 to 30 per cent is personal.
“Had it not been so, the farmers would have found it difficult to keep up with the different stages of their farm.”
This assistance until this day has been a lifeline for many.
Mr Sharma had this to say about the fund’s impact and on some people’s view of its role.
“When we go back and look at the legacies, not only of the farmers but the farmers’ children, they are overseas, they are here. They are holding executive positions in the corporate world.
“They come back and acknowledge the Growers Fund. The Sugarcane Growth Fund has paid it in the lives of the ordinary sugarcane farmers.”
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Source : The Fiji Times
