Fiji: Sigatoka floods destroy 80% production
"The first reaction we had at home with my family was we woke up and just started crying when we saw what had happened," he said.
All of his vegetables crops were washed away by the water.
"All that’s left on the farm now is gravel and about two feet deep of mud and silt. This is the worst flood ever and it’s taken away my livelihood," the farmer said.
Saheed said the devastation caused by the flood was "heartbreaking". He said $5000 worth of tomatoes, long bean and sweetcorn were destroyed.
Sigatoka Town Council chief executive Anand Pillay said villagers along Valley Rd were badly affected by floods.
"We have our DISMAC team here who will visit the rural communities today (yesterday) after taking care of the town and we are working closely with them in an integrated approach and are doing our best to restore facilities," Pillay said.
Another affected grower has estimated the damage to his crops at $20,000. Sugga Ram, of Bilalevu in Valley Road, Sigatoka, said whatever vegetables he had on his farm have been destroyed. Ram is a major exported of vegetables.
Mr Ram said Ministry of Agriculture officials surveyed his farm and that of other farmers on Thursday.
"The floods destroyed all vegetables in my farm and I have lost about $20,000 worth of vegetables that I would have exported," he said.
"Considering the damage, there won't be any vegetables in the market for a few months."
The Agriculture Department said preliminary estimates of the damage to the agricultural sector in Sigatoka were $2.5 million. It said 80 per cent of all crops that were planted for food security and for export were destroyed.
Source: thelinkpaper.ca; www.fijitimes.com
