Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama says right now the cane industry is carrying an even larger burden for the economy because the tourism industry has virtually grounded to a halt due the COVID-19 pandemic.
While speaking during the handover of grant agreement for the bundled insurance scheme, Bainimarama says when it is free to move again, it will be a great locomotive for our economy and in the meantime, sugar and other domestically-driven industries will have to do most of the pulling.
The Prime Minister says under the terms of the Bundled Insurance Scheme, the growers agreed to begin paying the premium in July 2020 and we know how brutal the COVID-19 pandemic’s economic impact has been for Fiji, including for the cane industry.
Bainimarama adds when the Sugarcane Growers Fund asked the Government to consider paying the growers’ premium from July through December 2020— they said yes and the result is the grant agreement, in the amount of $300,731.76.
Bainimarama says as of last June, $982,000 was claimed by 251 growers that have benefitted for different purposes.
He says the fund paid a total of more than $1.8 Million in premiums from July 2017 through June 2020.
Meanwhile, they handed over a cheque for $3,000 to Ganeshwa, a grower from Ba, who will receive his insurance claim payout for a house fire.
