Jale Daucakacaka 
Sharma signed the MOU with the Permanent Secretary for Fisheries, Atelaite Rokosuka.[ Source: Supplied ]
The Sugar Cane Growers Fund is extending its support to farmers looking to diversify into other agricultural commodities.
Fund Chief Executive Raj Sharma signed a Memorandum of Understanding today with the Ministry of Fisheries.
Sharma says while the top priority of the Fund is to support the growers and the sugar industry, it is also looking to increase the income of the farmers and minimise the single-income dependencies.
Sharma signed the MOU with the Permanent Secretary for Fisheries, Atelaite Rokosuka.
He adds the MOU will provide technical support to the cane growers.
Sharma says the facility is extended to sugar cane growers within policy guidelines and one of the requirements is that farmers need to register a business for this funding.
According to the CEO, the program was launched in May 2022 to support cane growers in planting ginger, duruka, and turmeric as well as beekeeping and aquaculture.
Sharma says the MOU through the Agriculture Ministry, will help SCGF to identify areas and cane farmers who wish to diversify and provide technical expertise on aquaculture farming.
The Fund will provide financial assistance under the Business Link Pacific Specialized SME Loan, which Sharma says is limited to producing cane growers with a loan cap of $15,000 of which 16 percent is a grant.
Sharma says the loan can be paid after a harvest and over a period of five years and growers will be charged a five percent interest rate.
The SCGF has also relaxed the purpose of the loan for any other crop and livestock, provided all the fundamentals such as financials, marketing, agro-economy and technical issues are established.
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