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MORE than 500 sugar cane farmers have switched to alternate farming practices under the Agriculture Ministry’s food security program.
The Agriculture department will carry out assessment and monitor sugarcane farmers interested in diversifying into alternate cropping with an export market available.
The department was already working on demonstration plots which will be later adopted by sugarcane growers interested in inter-cropping or planting alternate crops.
Principal Agriculture Officer Western Eroni Qama said farmers have ventured into five categories.
The categories include cassava, vegetables, rice and fruits with a total of 522 farmers taking part in the export promotion program, import substitution program and food security.
The rootcrop promoted for an export promotion program is cassava with 150 farmers involved in the Western Division.
Seventeen farmers are planting vegetables for export, six under import substitution while 300 under food security.
Vegetables promoted by the department includes eggplant, okra, chilli, peanut. Cereals include rice and maize, pulses include pigeon pea and cow pea while fruits include pawpaw, watermelon and pineapple. Sugar Research Institute of Fiji has urged sugarcane growers to diversify, as farmers were losing out with a decrease in the cost of price of sugar.