Ritika Pratap 
Twenty-two sugarcane farmers in the Western Division have received a Pre-Season Burnt Cane Rehabilitation Grant.
This is the first time such compensation has been offered by the government to farmers affected by pre-season cane fires.
Minister for the Sugar Industry, Charan Jeath Singh, says farmers whose fields were destroyed before the start of the crushing season faced a lot of challenges.
Minister for the Sugar Industry, Charan Jeath Singh. [File Photo]
Singh adds that in previous years, there was no government mechanism in place to assist farmers who lost cane due to pre-season burning.
The Minister says that the introduction of this grant is a first-of-its-kind initiative aimed at easing the burden on affected farmers and helping them recover.
Singh reaffirmed the government’s dedication to long-term sustainability, highlighting the Ministry’s broader vision to increase sugar production by 200,000 tonnes annually over the next five years.
One of the recipients, Mohomand Mistar of Balata, Tavua, who lost 7.5 acres of cane in a fire, thanked the government for the assistance.
Mistar says this assistance gives him the confidence to continue farming.
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