Former Teacher Turns to Sugarcane Farming
“Moving from a classroom to a farm and working under the sun and rain is not easy. It is not easy also to acquire a piece of land and get consent from landowners to renew the land lease.”
Friday 18 October 2024 | 13:30
Sadha Lata Singh (left), with her husband Indar Deo in Labasa on October 11, 2024. Photo: Shratika Naidu
Sadha Lata Singh, 58, does not regret taking a leap from being a secondary school teacher and lecturer to a sugarcane farmer.
Ms Singh was a secondary school teacher for 24 years before joining the Technical College of Fiji (TCF) in 2015.
The mother of one had to choose a new career pathway when TCF closed in 2020.
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While at home, she was inspired by her husband, Indar Deo, 65, owner of a 13.5-acre sugarcane farm. Mr Deo is a retired police officer.
In 2020, she acquired a 10-acre land at Wailevu, Labasa to start rice farming in 2022 then switched to sugarcane farming last year.
She has harvested 90 tonnes of sugarcane so far this year for the Fiji Sugar Corporation Labasa Mill.
“It wasn’t easy to move hands from holding a chalk to a pen and then a cane knife,” she said.
“Moving from a classroom to a farm and working under the sun and rain is not easy. It is not easy also to acquire a piece of land and get consent from landowners to renew the land lease.”
Ms Singh said working in the farm kept her healthy.
“I encourage mothers who lost their jobs or are facing difficulties to never give up hope. I am blessed to have a son, who is an engineer and supports my business by buying a tractor.”
She learnt how to do sugarcane farming from her husband as she was supporting his retirement plan.
“I thank God for blessing me with a supporting husband and son which made my life easy,” she said.
Now she plans to move into mechanisation.
She was one of the 58 recipients who received grant from government at the Sugar Cane Growers Fund office in Labasa for renewal of land lease last Friday.
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