Apenisa Waqairadovu 
[File Photo]
The Ministry of Sugar Industry is pushing ahead with plans to modernise farming, aiming to have 60 percent of the country’s sugarcane harvested mechanically by next year.
Minister for Sugar Charan Jeath Singh says the government has invested $978,200 this financial year to promote farm mechanisation, which includes fertiliser applicators, boom sprayers, cane planters, and upcoming AI-supported technologies such as drones.
Currently, more than 100 harvesters are operating in Fiji, covering about 40 percent of cane harvesting. Singh says restructuring fields and adjusting planting patterns will further improve efficiency.
He adds that the trial of Fiji’s first hilly-terrain mechanical harvester, supplied by Japan’s Kumiki Co., Ltd., is part of this broader vision to ease the burden on farmers and increase productivity in the sector.
Singh also thanked industry stakeholders for their support, stressing that modernisation is key to reviving the sugar industry and securing its future.
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