Minister for Agriculture, Vatimi Rayalu, is urging Fijians to protect our soil fertility by practicing safe farming.

Rayalu says uncontrolled burning of forests or grass reduces the quality of the soil.

He made these comments while launching the Nitrogen Fixation Trees Nursery at Koronivia Research Station yesterday.

The Minister states that the Land Use Planning Management team continues to advocate for the best land use practices, and this can be achieved through a collective effort.

“We also need the help of the civil society, other organizations like those that are present here today to help us in the quest to see that our soils remain productive for as long as it can.”

Rayalu emphasizes that it takes many years to develop at least two centimeters of top-quality soil, but it takes only a few minutes to destroy it.