27 Feb 2012

Rental waiver to help farmers revive agriculture sector

11:17 am on 27 February 2012

The Special Administrator for the flood affected towns of Ba and Tavua in Fiji says a rental waiver will help farmers to revive the agriculture sector.

Arun Prasad's comments follow a decision by the iTaukei Trust Board to waive the annual rent of 541 agricultural lease tenants affected by flooding in the Western Division.

He says while this will help farmers to recover from the flooding, the interim government is helping market vendors through a cash injection of 57,000 US dollars.

"So initiatives are there. The whole idea is to get people back on their feet and they start making their ends meet by production and reviving the agriculture sector. So this is the whole idea and I think it's great to see how the relevant authorities have come to assist the farmers."

Arun Prasad says the government is also waiving the annual business licences of many small companies in flood-affected towns.