Villagers of Tubenasolo in Nawaka, Nadi received a major boost to their yaqona farming venture last week with the handover of farming tools from the Minister for Agriculture and Waterways, Vatimi Rayalu.

The visit was part of a broader initiative to empower indigenous communities to utilise their land more productively and embrace the full potential of government-supported agricultural program
In his address, Rayalu challenged villagers to reflect on the value of their land and the opportunities readily available to them through government assistance.

“Today, I want to challenge us, the land that we own, runned by a government that helps the indigenous people, but what is left? Tell yourself what’s left of you. I’ve explained all the types of programs that are available.” Rayalu said.

“And you’ll see that almost every program provided by the government is just a program to help us, the indigenous community, to make a living from the resources that we own” he highlighted.

The Minister also expressed concern over the growing trend of young people leaving for overseas work under programs like the PALM Scheme, while fertile and resource-rich land remains underutilized in the villagers.

“Fiji is searching for that kind of people today. I am speaking about this because young men and women, we have very productive soil, what are they doing? they opt to travel abroad for the NEC and others. So, what’s so different in this villages? There’s soil here, there’s soil there. That is not theirs, but this is theirs, we don’t own that, but we own this. We own the land the government that is running today” he stressed

By Joeli Ragoneliwa