The current dry spell affecting the nation is taking its toll.

In the North, people in rural areas and farmers are amongst the hardest hit.

For a goat farmer like Hirdesh Chand of Wailevu, this spells trouble.

While the dry weather is also starting to take its toll on water sources, the main concern for Mr Chand is finding green pasture for his goat herd.

The 18-year-old concedes that looking after 13 goats can be a daunting task in the dry spell but adds that the simple method of moving them to healthier pasture and sacrificing his rice farm for the animals has proven well so far.

Another farmer, Vikash Chand, who lives on Korovatu Road outside Labasa said the family was forced to fetch water elsewhere.

“We go to a nearby well near our house but

it’s getting dry and it is hard for us to look for water,” Mr Vikash said.

Despite the odds stacked against them as the dry weather persists, the two farmers share one thing in common – they have faced much bigger droughts in the past to be left shaken by the challenges that confronts them.

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