Close to 390 cane access roads are expected to be fixed within the Rakiraki area this year.

The issue was brought up by sugarcane farmers in Rakiraki yesterday during a public consultation with the Prime Minister, Voreqe Bainimarama in Rakiraki town.

The farmers said that one of the biggest challenges they faced within their area was the bad conditions of access cane roads that made it difficult for them to deliver sugarcane to the Rarawai mill in Ba.

The issue was one of the common ones highlighted by farmers during the consultation.

Mr Bainimarama then requested sugarcane farmers to inform their problems to the Fiji Sugar Corporation so that field officers could be deployed to assess the problems.

FSC Chief Operating Officer, Navin Chandra said the cost of fixing the 389 access cane roads within Rakiraki would cost around $773,000.

“Last year the funds were $280,000 but now it has increased this year, one of the major problems we are facing is the bad weather which led to the delay in works,” he said.

At the same time, Mr Chandra said they were also looking for good contractors that would carry out the jobs.

“The previous contractors didn’t do the works nicely, we are trying to identify good contractors to do the job, this will be expected to be completed before the harvesting season this year,” he added.

Meanwhile, Mr Chandra also said they were looking at a joint venture with the iTaukei Land Trust Board on a cane planting grant which led to the delay in payments.

“We need to verify with another 35 growers with 29 acres of sugarcane farm land next week before payments are made in Rakiraki,” he said.

Sixty-five-year-old, Saula Ravai in Rakiraki thanked the Prime Minister for visiting the sugarcane farmers.

“This is the first time that any prime minister who is also the  minister for sugar to come to us and hear our problems, I want to thank him for taking his time out,” he said.

Edited by Rusiate Mataika

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