No deductions in the final cane payment for farmers

Good news for sugarcane farmers as the Minister for Multi-Ethnic Affairs and Sugar Industry, Charan Jeath Singh, has announced that there will be no deductions in the final cane payment for farmers to ensure they have sufficient money for Diwali.

Speaking during a public consultation at the Sugarcane Growers Council Hall in Lautoka, the Minister says that farmers will get a hundred percent of the proceeds, which has been a collective decision by the board.

Singh says this comes with the ministry's vision to encourage more farmers to venture into sugarcane farming in order to increase their production.

He also highlighted that in order to help the farmers, the board is exploring further options for deferring the deductions for fertilizers in a progressive way.

Singh says that Fiji Sugar Cooperation and South Pacific Fertilizers play an important role in making this happen.

He says they are trying to move deductions next year for farmers who have bought fertilizers this year.

A new government grant program was also launched whereby first-time sugarcane farm buyers would be able to obtain a loan from the Sugar Cane Growers Fund at the rate of 2.99 percent for the first year and then six percent thereafter.

Meanwhile, the Minister highlighted that sugar production has decreased from 4.2 million tons to 1.6 million tons.