A concerned farmer in Bua is calling on the Fiji Police Force to take stronger action against yaqona theft after losing thousands of dollars over the years.
Iosefo Lawakeli, a registered nurse with the Ministry of Health and has a farm in Vunilagi, says repeated thefts have severely affected his livelihood.
He says he has lost a significant amount of yaqona and feels powerless to stop the ongoing theft on his farm.
Lawakeli told fijivillage News that yaqona theft has become a trend in the province over the years, and the ongoing problem is on the rise once again.
The farmer says he takes his car to the farm, which is about 2 hours walk from the village, and is planning to farm closer to the village to monitor his farm.
He says farm owners have to be in the farm to look after their produce before it is harvested.
Lawakeli says trusting village members to look after the farm is becoming difficult nowadays.
He hopes police intervention will curb the ongoing problem.
We have sent questions to police. They are yet to respond.
