Young farmer says mechanisation is the future of sugarcane farming

For 26-year-old Munish Naicker, the future of sugarcane farming lies in machines, not manpower.

Faced with a shortage of farm workers, the award-winning young farmer has invested thousands of dollars in tractors and specialised equipment, allowing him to manage his farm largely on his own while boosting production.

Mr Naicker, who was named the Northern Division's Best Innovative Farmer at this year's Prime Minister's Sugarcane Farmers' Mill Awards in Labasa, believes mechanisation is the key to keeping the industry profitable.

"Every farming activity is mechanised from ploughing, planting, applying fertiliser to spraying weedicide to control pests were mechanised," he said.

Mr Naicker said he no longer depended on manual labour because he had invested in specialised machinery imported from overseas.

"I don't rely on manual labour, I have imported machinery from overseas such as sugarcane planter, sprayer and fertiliser applicator."

He recently purchased a tractor from New Zealand to further expand his farming operation.

Despite the significant cost, Mr Naicker described the machinery as an investment rather than an expense.

He left Naleba College in Labasa in 2017 to pursue sugarcane farming and has since become an inspiration for other young people considering a career in agriculture.

"I take sugarcane farming as a passion and a business which I try to profit from," he said.

Mr Naicker supplied 1030 tonnes of cane to the Fiji Sugar Corporation's Labasa Mill from a single farm last season and has already purchased a second 13-acre property to increase production.

"I am purchased a second farm of 13 acres which I plan to cultivate sugarcane to boost supply."

Tui Labasa Ratu Jone Qomate said mechanisation had become essential as farmers struggled to find labour.

With growing labour shortages and increasing wage and housing costs, he said more growers were investing in tractors, lorries, sugarcane planters and harvesters to remain financially viable.

The chief, who owns a sugarcane farm at Nagigi, harvested nearly 3000 tonnes of cane last season with the help of machinery.

"Farm mechanisation is vital to harvesting and production because we can't rely on physical labourers who are hard to find nowadays," he said.

Ratu Jone encouraged young and aspiring farmers to embrace mechanisation if they wanted to succeed in the sugar industry.