The recent prolonged dry spell has taken its toll on the planting of the pine seedlings.

Fiji Pine group executive chairman Faiz Khan said “We are not able to go ahead with our planting programme.

“If we do plant when there is drought the seedlings we plant will die in a week.”

Mr Khan added that there are millions of seedlings waiting to be planted.

However the soil is not ready due to the weather pattern.

“Therefore, we need rain and we need a significant amount of rain.

“There is an open budget for planting this is a policy that we put in because without our future sustainability of our forest.

“There is a need for long term future for the children and for the landowners so there is a big need to plant.

“It is very easy to harvest and think off what is coming 25 years time so the culture we have created is that we have to be concern not to bother next 25 years but the next 100 years which is the culture we have tried to inculcate in our people.

However that culture inculcated at the moment cannot go ahead and put it into action because of factors outside of human controls such as weather.

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