‘Over 80% Of Vendors Are Women’

Over 80 per cent of market ven­dors in Fiji are women,Of this, 61 per cent are be­tween the ages of 46 to 75 years old.

Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimara­ma revealed that most of these ven­dors are selling what they produce and are responsible from sowing the first seeds to harvesting their crops.

He also highlighted that while farming was not an easy job, it was critically important.

“Markets are where Fijians buy their food. They remain vital sourc­es of food and nutrition security, economic activity, and livelihoods that sustain small island econo­mies,” he said.

“The new standardised roadside stall in Nananu will completely cut out the time and costs associated with travel. They’ll now be able to sell your produce from directly out­side your village.

“With this comes a greater sense of freedom and access for vendors who may face difficulty with physi­cal mobility or on days they may be too ill to travel.

“Additionally, apart from keeping more money in your pockets, you now have much more time to work on your farms, and importantly, to spend with your families,” he said.

He said the Government had con­structed 103 roadside stalls as part of its five-year and 20-year national development plans.

“Our goal has been to work through a public–private partnership to con­struct and provide Fijian vendors with high-quality, durable, comfort­able working stalls,” he said.

“These stalls can simultaneously withstand category five tropical cyclones. As you may have noticed, the design of the roadside stalls is similar to others you see along the highways.

“However, your stalls have been custom-designed to allow for three vendors instead of one, to sell at the same time.

“This means 257 Nananu vendors can now sell their produce to com­muters, sustain a profitable liveli­hood and not worry about stall pay­ments or rental fees.”

He said 90 women and 44 youth of Nananu have already confirmed their use of the stalls.

He had urged the villagers of Nananu to take advantage of the as­sistance.

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