In addition to a sugarcane stabilisation fund, the sector’s increased budget will build on the work done over the years to improve cane yields and decrease the cost of production.
Fiji Sugar Corporation chief executive, Graham Clark says around 63 million dollars has been allocated for the sector that will allow them to efficiently implement their strategy.
“A continuation of a support program that was started last year is good news for farmers, a slight increase in the allocation is also good news so the very good work that was started last year will be continue. Now that work was around increasing productivity, reducing cost of production and therefore making margins for cane farming more sustainable.”
Clark says another area of focus will be in the research and development of other cane varieties that can work better with Fiji’s climate and enable farmers to increase their yields.
The cane crushing season began in the Lautoka yesterday with Labasa the first to start their crushing last month.
