PGR News from the Pacific

Posted 7:47 PM by Luigi

A master yam grower

Seema Sharma (Fiji Times, Friday, 16 June 2006)

AN AWARD winning yam farmer of Muanicula, in Macuata, has taken a long and hard journey to settle in his wife's village and make a living from rocky bush land to educate his children and secure their future.

Fifty-four-year-old Tuqeta Rabanakadavu has won the best farmer award for 10 years since the competition started in the village.

His specialty is the Philippine's yam, which he sells at the Labasa Market once a week.
With the little income he gets, he manages to shop for his family and send money to a daughter who is studying at the Lautoka Teacher's College.

His eldest son has graduated from LTC and is teaching in Bua while one child is in form five and two in primary school.

Mr Rabanakadavu said he had spent many sleepless nights when he first moved to Muanicula from Vaturova more than 15 years ago.

He said he moved to his wife's village because of the shortage of land in his village.

"You know village land is not prepared and many of us who are farmers in the village are working on bush land after clearing it.

"The first few years were very hard but I managed to make enough money. "When my children started going to school I had to sometimes borrow from friends and relatives," said Mr Rabanakadavu.

He said life was improving slowly and with three children in school now he had little to worry about because the two elder ones would support them.

During the yam show last week Mr Rabanakadavu was optimistic well before the announcements were made. He had displayed his best crops and waited for the Ministry of Agriculture officials to make an announcement. "It is through these competitions that I have been winning basic farming equipment like, forks, knives and wheelbarrows.

"Otherwise I have not received any other support from the Government but do hope that our roads are improved soon. "Apart from yam I plant bananas and cassava which I take to the market to sell after hiring a carrier.

"My farm is in the interior and vans cannot go there so I have to either carry my crop to the village or borrow a horse. A lot of people living in the interior end up moving to town because of road and water problems.

"We are lucky that we have a river flowing beside our village but something needs to the done about the road.

"There is no bridge, so each time it rains heavily we are stuck with our crops in the village and the children cannot go to school."

Recalling his young days, he said he had two elder sisters and one brother.
He said being the youngest, he was pampered at times but they all had to help their father in their vegetable farm.

Mr Rabanakadavu said it was always good to do hard work from a young age so that one was prepared for the future.

He said he was educated up to class eight and had to drop out of school because there no money in the family.

"I was an above average student and would have continued studying if my father could afford to send me to school."



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DIVA-GIS	Monday, June 26, 2006 Posted 7:47 PM by Luigi A master yam grower Seema Sharma (Fiji Times, Friday, 16 June 2006) AN AWARD winning yam farmer of Muanicula, in Macuata, has taken a long and hard journey to settle in his wife's village and make a living from rocky bush land to educate his children and secure their future. Fifty-four-year-old Tuqeta Rabanakadavu has won the best farmer award for 10 years since the competition started in the village. His specialty is the Philippine's yam, which he sells at the Labasa Market once a week. With the little income he gets, he manages to shop for his family and send money to a daughter who is studying at the Lautoka Teacher's College. His eldest son has graduated from LTC and is teaching in Bua while one child is in form five and two in primary school. Mr Rabanakadavu said he had spent many sleepless nights when he first moved to Muanicula from Vaturova more than 15 years ago. He said he moved to his wife's village because of the shortage of land in his village. "You know village land is not prepared and many of us who are farmers in the village are working on bush land after clearing it. "The first few years were very hard but I managed to make enough money. "When my children started going to school I had to sometimes borrow from friends and relatives," said Mr Rabanakadavu. He said life was improving slowly and with three children in school now he had little to worry about because the two elder ones would support them. During the yam show last week Mr Rabanakadavu was optimistic well before the announcements were made. He had displayed his best crops and waited for the Ministry of Agriculture officials to make an announcement. "It is through these competitions that I have been winning basic farming equipment like, forks, knives and wheelbarrows. "Otherwise I have not received any other support from the Government but do hope that our roads are improved soon. "Apart from yam I plant bananas and cassava which I take to the market to sell after hiring a carrier. "My farm is in the interior and vans cannot go there so I have to either carry my crop to the village or borrow a horse. A lot of people living in the interior end up moving to town because of road and water problems. "We are lucky that we have a river flowing beside our village but something needs to the done about the road. "There is no bridge, so each time it rains heavily we are stuck with our crops in the village and the children cannot go to school." Recalling his young days, he said he had two elder sisters and one brother. He said being the youngest, he was pampered at times but they all had to help their father in their vegetable farm. Mr Rabanakadavu said it was always good to do hard work from a young age so that one was prepared for the future. He said he was educated up to class eight and had to drop out of school because there no money in the family. "I was an above average student and would have continued studying if my father could afford to send me to school." * Comments: Post a Comment	Archive October 2002 November 2002 December 2002 January 2003 February 2003 March 2003 April 2003 May 2003 June 2003 July 2003 August 2003 September 2003 October 2003 November 2003 December 2003 January 2004 February 2004 March 2004 April 2004 May 2004 June 2004 July 2004 August 2004 September 2004 October 2004 November 2004 December 2004 January 2005 February 2005 March 2005 April 2005 May 2005 June 2005 July 2005 August 2005 September 2005 October 2005 November 2005 December 2005 January 2006 February 2006 March 2006 April 2006 May 2006 June 2006 July 2006 August 2006 September 2006 October 2006 November 2006 December 2006 January 2007 February 2007 March 2007 April 2007 May 2007 June 2007 July 2007 August 2007 September 2007 October 2007 November 2007 December 2007 January 2008 February 2008 March 2008 April 2008 May 2008 June 2008 July 2008 August 2008 September 2008 October 2008 November 2008 December 2008 January 2009 February 2009 March 2009 April 2009 May 2009 June 2009 July 2009 August 2009 September 2009 October 2009 November 2009 January 2010 RSS Feed Alternative feed Contact Tevita Something new: Agrobiodiversity Weblog: For discussions of conservation and sustainable use of the genetic resources of crops, livestock and their wild relatives. 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