$22k yaqona business venture for Ra youths

This year started on a good note for members of the Nauria Youth Group in Nauria Village, Nalawa, Ra.

They have started a yaqona production business, thanks to the revival of a traditional farming practice, and the Ministry of Agriculture, Waterways and Sugar Industry.

This week, Assistant Minister for Agriculture, Waterways and Sugar Industry, Inosi Kuridrani handed-over yaqona production equipment valued at $22,000.

The Ministry of Agriculture said the assistance included a yaqona pounding machine, a vacuum packing machine, wash-bay materials, and essential tools designed to empower 44 farmers to cultivate, process, and market their own yaqona directly from their village.

Mr Kuridrani said the business venture was supported through the iTaukei solesolevaki – the traditional agricultural practice of collective effort in villages and maritime communities.

“By working together, the youths of Nauria can strengthen their economic independence, reduce reliance on middlemen, and secure fair returns for their hard work,” Mr Kuridrani said.

“With this assistance, you are now empowered to cultivate, harvest, process, pack, and market your own yaqona right here from Nauria, name it your own and sell it at its true value of $120 to $160 per kilogram.”

He said the assistance boosted sustainable farming methods and helped protect yaqona plants from kava dieback disease.

The Ministry hopes Nauria will become a model for youth-led agricultural development, demonstrating how collective farming under the solesolevaki approach can transform rural communities and secure long-term prosperity for Fiji’s kava industry.

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