Farmers’ losses overlooked in Fiji’s disaster assessments, Parliament told

Farmers' losses after disasters are not being properly counted in Fiji's official damage assessments.

This was highlighted by Fiji Business Disaster Resilience Council chair Karunesh Rao during his submission to the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence in Parliament yesterday.

Mr Rao said private sector losses, including farmers, are left out when Fiji carries out a post-disaster needs assessment, the official count of what a cyclone or flood has cost the country.

"The losses that we factor in pretty much cover the different sectors, including agriculture, estimated value, but the private sector losses are not factored in there," Mr Rao said.

Deputy committee chairperson Rinesh Sharma pressed the council on sugarcane farmers, saying they suffered the most when disasters hit.

"Our farmers go through the most when it comes to natural disasters," Mr Sharma said.

He called on FBDRC to formally engage with the Fiji Sugar Corporation through an MOU or legal arrangement to help cane farmers prepare better, noting that unharvested cane regularly burned in fields after cyclones, leaving growers with nothing.

Fiji Commerce and Employers Federation chief executive Edward Bernard said parametric insurance — a quick-payout policy triggered automatically when a disaster is recorded — helped but fell short.

"Parametric insurance is good, but it does not cover most of it," Mr Bernard said.

He said the council had paired the insurance with business continuity planning to help businesses protect stock and supply chains before disaster strikes.

The submissions were part of a hearing on the proposed Pacific Resilience Facility, a Pacific-owned grant fund before Parliament for ratification.

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