Farmers in Fiji's Naleba and Bucaisau areas have bought their own mechanical sugarcane harvester to reduce reliance on contractors and help ensure crops are harvested and delivered to the Labasa Mill on time.
The 12-member Bucaisau Farmers' Cooperatives Ltd. acquired the harvester with support from the government, Fiji Development Bank and contributions from cooperative members.
The Cooperative Development Fund provided a $100,000 grant, while the Fiji Development Bank provided loan financing. Members contributed $10,000 towards the purchase and strengthening of the cooperative.
Cooperative member Navindra Jas said the group was originally established in 2017 as Naleba Cane Farmers Cooperative Ltd. but remained inactive for several years. With assistance from the Department of Cooperatives, it was revived in 2025 and renamed Bucaisau Farmers' Cooperatives Ltd.
Jas said the cooperative was revived to collectively own and operate harvesting machinery, reduce dependence on outside contractors and make the equipment available to other farmers in the Naleba and Bucaisau areas.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Industries, Commerce and Business Development Manoa Kamikamica said at the harvester handover on Sept. 23 that the initiative demonstrated how cooperatives could help farmers overcome challenges that would be difficult to address individually.
"A cooperative is, at its heart, a simple but powerful idea: that people achieve more by pooling their resources, their labour and their voice than they ever could standing alone," Kamikamica said.
He said access to machinery and financing could be significant challenges for cane farmers, while cooperatives allow members to share costs and acquire equipment that may otherwise be beyond the reach of individual farmers.
Kamikamica said government support extended beyond grants and loans to strengthening cooperative boards, improving financial management and building the systems needed to sustain cooperatives.
Jas said the cooperative plans to acquire additional types of sugarcane farming equipment, allowing it to provide more services to its members and other farmers in the area.
Kamikamica said the revival of the Bucaisau cooperative demonstrated the value of farmers working together around a shared goal.
"When a cooperative succeeds, it is not an abstract statistic that improves — it is a family that harvests its crop on time, a member's income that grows, a community that gains the confidence to plan further ahead, and a livelihood that becomes more secure," he said.
The harvester is expected to support farmers supplying the Labasa Mill by improving access to machinery during the harvest season and reducing reliance on external contractors.
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