Peceli Naviticoko 
[Photo: FILE]
Sea level rise is crippling sugarcane farming in parts of Wailevu, Macuata, where repeated saltwater intrusion is destroying crops, threatening livelihoods, and forcing families off land that once sustained generations.
Farmer Mahen Lal says in Wailevu Tiri, a low-lying cane-farming community sitting nearly two metres below sea level, seawater now regularly floods cane fields during high tide, severely reducing soil fertility and crop yields.
He says the problem has persisted for decades, with little permanent intervention, despite mounting losses in production and income.
“Seawater comes inside and our sugarcane dries up and is finished. We keep complaining, but there is no proper solution,”
Lal says cane production has steadily declined, forcing several families to abandon farming altogether as their land becomes increasingly unworkable.
However, farmers in Wailveu are now calling for urgent upgrades to floodgate infrastructure and the dredging of natural waterways, warning that without decisive action, Wailevu’s cane industry could disappear entirely.
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