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Calls are growing in Vanuabalavu, Lau for the government to fix rural roads and supply farming tools.

Villagers are saying these gaps are blocking real progress.

Some families are working with relatives overseas to revive unused land for large-scale root crop and vegetable farming. But poor road access and limited machinery are ma-jor barriers.

A mother of three Temo Kotoiyacata said her family earned more than $3,000 from their first harvest last year alone.

She explained they kept harvesting throughout the year despite only starting the farm that same year.

“A lot of income-generating income activities are happening in islands and remote villages around Fiji. The government needs to look into this and en-sure that villagers are assisted because when they are given the right tools, productivity will increase.”

Kotoiyacata said they need heavy machines to clear the land because it was too much for manual labour and without better road access, it is hard to move produce or even get young people interested in farming.

She added that trading between islands is already active and it would be helpful if the government did a proper assessment to understand its full scale.

Kotoiyacata pointed out they don’t usually have to worry about markets because once a vessel reaches the island, buyers are ready and orders from the mainland are often pre-arranged.

The Agriculture Ministry recently sent diggers to assist island farmers, a move wel-comed by villagers but many say long-term support is still lacking.

Vanuabalavu Day Committee Chair Tomi Finau described islanders as very resilient and urged the government to stop expecting people to travel to Suva to access services.

He proposed holding government expos on the islands, where agencies can bring their services directly to communities.

“We usually liaise with government ministries when we plan expos in Vanua-balavu but we need more active participation.”

Finau added that better community engagement in rural and maritime areas should be part of the budget planning process.

Woman entrepreneur Leba Verewale believes women in the islands have valuable skills and resources to start businesses, such as jewellery making.

“Skills training empowers women and I believe we have a lot of talented women in the islands and if they are given the right platform, they will bloom.”

Verewale said the mindset is often a barrier, explaining that some women think no one will buy what they create.

She shares this is where the government can step in by setting up proper markets and showing women that there is real potential in their ideas.

With the national budget to be announced at 10 tomorrow, islanders are hoping the calls for improved infrastructure, better access to markets and serious investment in agriculture won’t be left out.

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