FIJI: Hundreds of Fiji sugar cane farmers forced off land
Updated
In Fiji more than 500 sugarcane farmers are expected to be pushed off the land and into poverty by the end of this year. The problem is their land leases expire and many won't be renewed.
Lynette Hyslop
Presenter:
Speakers: Jay Gawander, chief executive, Fiji Sugar cane Growers Council
GAWANDER: In Fiji 85 percent is on native land which is leased out to the cane growers and from roughly 1997 now till now, altogether about 5000 leases have actually expired and some 3000 have been renewed. Some have been given to the existing cane growers and some has been given to new growers and so now, this year approximately another 500 odd leases will be expired.
HYSLOP: Is there a chance that they will be renewed or is that the end of it?
GAWANDER: I think we feel pretty optimistic some of the leases could be renewed but we don't think all of them will be renewed. The land owners will need some for there own use but we are hoping that most will be renewed and we have been recently informed by the officials of the Native Land Trust board in a stakeholders meeting that they are now encouraging land owners to renew the leases. That is what the board has said to us.
HYSLOP: What happens to those people who don't get their lease renewed where do these farmers go?
GAWANDER: It has been a serious problem for a period of time. Many of them have been forced out and they are living in very difficult conditions. Some of them have managed to find informal employment but it has been very difficult for some. You may remember the labour led government in 2000 gave some of them funding. I think it was about 28 thousand dollars Fijian, for them to relocate. But after the events of that year with the new government coming in, those payments were stopped.
HYSLOP: So there's no chance they will be given funding now so they can go and find some other employment or profession?
GAWANDER: We are hoping that under the present system we will see what can be done. Nothing has come out of this at the moment. Our first option is to see that the land is renewed, the lease is renewed.
HYSLOP: But if that doesn't happen then their are people left who can't feed their families and are literally out of work and forced into poverty?
GAWANDER: You are absolutely right. You may know that in Fiji there's at least 30 percent of people that are living below poverty while 50 percent are close to or near the poverty level so we would urge the government of the day to see that something is done about these people.
HYSLOP: Why are some of the land owners wanting to come in and take over the land and cultivate it themselves? Why is there that shift?
GAWANDER: I think some of them probably see there's a future in developing the land for other purposes besides sugar cane where there's more income generating opportunity for themselves and others want the land for their own use and they may want to get out of the system they are in and earn more money.
HYSLOP: Is it a feasible thing that these people with leases when they expire and then are renewed; are they able to renew them for say a life time instead of short term?
GAWANDER: No, I don't think any thing like that can happen. You may be aware of your land lease issues in your own country but it's different in Fiji. Unfortunately 85 percent of land will always remain with the Native Land Title Board and more recently in the past five years there was schedule A and schedule B crown leases that also reverted back to native title. So there's a very small quantum of land that's left that is classified as free hold land and Crown C land
HYSLOP: Finally Jay is the government of the day, the interim government is it interested and is it responding to this issue which is perhaps going to get worse in the future?
GAWANDER: I think the government is considerate about this issue. They are expressing concern and we've seen a major shift in the Native Land Trust Board where officials are expressing that they are going to encourage the land owning unit to renew these leases which is quite different from several years ago.
