Sugarcane farmers to receive bonus payments today

Thousands of sugarcane farmers across Fiji will receive bonus payments today as part of the Government's initiative to support those who have increased cane production, which includes multiple incentive schemes.

While announcing the bonus payments, Minister for Multi-Ethnic Affairs and Sugar Industry Charan Jeath Singh says farmers who have increased cane production compared to previous years will receive an additional $5 per tonne.

He says for instance, if a farmer produced 200 tonnes in the past and increased it to 250 tonnes last year, the additional 50 tonnes will qualify for this extra payment.

Singh says 3,208 sugarcane farmers will receive payments under the Farmer's Incentive Scheme, who will collectively receive $596,701.05.

He said this payment is based on the 119,340.21 tonnes of additional sugarcane produced last season.

Singh says despite criticism from some quarters of the sugar industry, these numbers reflect significant growth and success within the sector.

He further says another support scheme focuses on manual cane harvesting.

He says the government has introduced the financial assistance program, recognising the challenges farmers face in securing manual labourers and cane harvesters.

Singh says under this scheme, 7,786 farmers will receive an additional $3 per tonne for manually harvested cane, amounting to a total payment of $2,171,633.34.

He adds that a total of 723,877.78 tonnes of cane were manually harvested during the 2024 season.

Singh says these financial aids are designed to ease the burden on farmers and enhance their earnings.

He says all eligible farmers will receive payments today directly into their bank accounts.

Singh says farmers are the backbone of Fiji’s sugar industry and the government is committed to sustaining their livelihoods.

The Minister adds that there is an increase in projected sugarcane production for this year.

He says last year’s production was 1.6 million tons and they anticipate reaching 1.8 million tons this year.

He says if this upward trend continues, the goal is to achieve 3.5 million tons in the next five years.