Small cash crop farmer

Citation

Tabukovu, M. (2003), "Small cash crop farmer", British Food Journal, Vol. 105 No. 1/2. https://doi.org/10.1108/bfj.2003.070105aab.003

Small cash crop farmer

Situation summary

Peni Lakoviti is a small cash crop farmer in a village called Lutukina, located by the Naua River, south of Batiri. The village is 45 kilometres away from Labasa town, which is the main centre in Vanua Levu, the second largest island in Fiji. Mr Lakoviti is faced with the challenge of finding customers for his large quantities of cash crops, including taro (dalo) and kava (yaqona). Without an adequate outlet, most of his produce is left to rot on the farm. The local marketplace is flooded with taro, forcing farmers to sell their produce at a low price or trash it in the brush dump, unsold, after spending two or three days in the market. By exporting to New Zealand, Mr Lakoviti might reduce this waste.

The environment

Fiji, a nation in the South Pacific Ocean, includes about 320 islands, main ones being Viti Levu and Vanua Levu. The country is approximately 3,100 km northeast of Sydney, 2,100km north of Auckland and 5,100 km southwest of Honolulu. It has a population of 800,000 people, including multicultural descendents from Indian, Chinese and European heritage. While the official language is English, Fijian and Hundistani (Hindi) are widely spoken. Fiji Embassy offices are present in major Commonwealth countries, including Australia and New Zealand, which are major trading partners. The capital city is Suva, which is located in the main island (Viti Levu) of about 206,000 people.

Fiji is a sovereign democratic state and became independent on 10 October 1970, after 96 years of being a British Crown Colony. The country had gone through political instability of a military coup in 1987 resulting in a republic. An attempted coup in May 2000 almost divided the whole country, especially the native Fijians.

The Fijian Affair Board (FAB) is appointed by government to look after the welfare of the native Fijians in all areas of developments. The organisation works from village, district and provincial levels in handling Fijian aggression to government. These include infrastructure development, and business development by individuals or groups. Entrepreneurs are encouraged to start their business through loans from the Fiji Development Bank.

The Native Land Trust Board (NLTB) is the statutory body responsible for the administration of the native leases. This includes inspecting land, communicating with landowners and negotiating with tenants. NLTB is the legal leaser and, therefore, is responsible for the collection of all monies owed under native leases and for the distribution of that money to landowners, after deduction of administrative costs. The landowners own about 80 per cent of the land in Fiji. The rest of the land is privately or owned by the Government.

Fiji climate is sub-tropical without great extremes of heat or cold, with an average temperature of 24-28 degrees Celsius. The south-eastern side of the islands are wet compared to the northern-western side, which are dry, where sugar cane mostly grow.

The economy

The Fiji Investment Board plays a major role in facilitating inward investment. The Government encourages economic growth through export incentives. These include tax free zones, with a 13-year tax holiday, duty exemptions on capital goods and raw materials and the freedom to repatriate capital and profits. A value-added tax is levied on goods and services with the exception of certain supplies, which either are exempted or are zero-rated. All goods and services exported are zero-rated. Political unrest, in 2000, greatly affected the country's economy. The political instability in the country prompted Indo-Fijians and native Fijians to leave the country and settle in New Zealand and Australia.

Infrastructure

The communication and transportation links within the country and the outside world are good. The Nadi International Airport, situated in the Western part of Viti Levu, is used by international airlines on trans-Pacific air routes. The Nausori International Airport, 40km from Suva, operates direct flights to Australia and New Zealand.

Suva is the main port of entry for overseas ships handling cargos and passenger vessels. Other major international ports are Lautoka in Viti Levu and the only one in Vanua Levu is Savusavu. In 2000, the interim Government approved Labasa Port for international shipping, which provide easy access for business people in the Labasa Region.

A telecommunications network provides services to cities, towns and major rural areas. International direct dialling, videoconferencing, voice mail, paging, Internet, postal services, telex, faxes, and mobile telephone services are available in Fiji.

Culture

Traditional Fijian society is based on communal principles derived from village life. People in the villages share the obligations and rewards of community life and are still led by a hereditary chief. They work together in the preparation of feasts and in the making of gifts for presentation on various occasions; they fish together, later dividing the catch; and they all help in communal activities such as building of home. The Fijians are easy-going and tied to their tribal land. The advantage of the system is an extended family unit that allows no one to go hungry, uncared for or unloved. Some have broken out from such system to run their own business; there are always family obligations that cannot be ignored. Such a system saw other races like Indians and others do well in businesses both large and at entrepreneur level. The Indians tend to work harder in the hope of an even brighter future and control the majority of the economy, especially in the sugar industry.

The Lutukina tribe

In Lutukina, Peni Lakoviti will be next tribal chief when the present chief – his brother – dies. There are six clans in the tribe, with about 3,000ha of untouched valuable forest species at a value of FD$8-10 million. The village owns about 20 km of quality gravel suitable for road constructions. Both resources provide royalties to the tribe if extracted. Other four related tribes surrounding Lutukina have about 30,000ha of virgin forest suitable for export markets. Most of the native species are purchased for an average of $1,500 to $2,500 in the overseas markets.

All five tribal members face the similar problem of producing cash crops that are having no outlets or markets where crops could provide cash for their daily needs. Mr Lakoviti has to travel 40km to Labasa town to sell his produce by hiring local vans which cost FD$50.00 per trip. These local vans owners are also hired to transport Lutukina villagers to the main road to catch public transport which is 6km away; and also transport sick people to the hospital about 15km. The cost of taro at the local market is about 55-60 cents per kilogram, where kava sells at $20 to $25 per kilogram. He has to spend three to four days in the market every fortnight to sell his produce.

Mr Lakoviti loves farming and cares for his tribal people. His tribal members always come to him when in need and that is what a tribal chief should expect from his people. His unsold crops are rotten in the farm looking for opportunities where he could sell them. There are many farmers supplying similar crops to the same market and the competition is greater.

Taro is a staple diet for almost all the Pacific Island nations and the Asian countries that are settling in these two countries. In New Zealand, taro is sold at a price, ranging from NZ$3.00 to NZ$6.00 per kg and kava when pounded and exported is sold at NZ$50.00 per kg.

The opening of the Labasa Port to international ships provides many opportunities for Peni Lakoviti. He could organise his tribal members to export both taro and yaqona to New Zealand and Australia and become an agent to other tribal members.

Maika Tabukovu University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand