SALIALEVU, Taveuni farmer Iosefo Waqairapoa believes adding fertiliser and spraying weedicide on farms is the same as littering and destroying a resource that made up the environment.
Mr Waqairapoa said the use of fertiliser and weedicides affected the biological make-up of the soil, thus decreasing its fertility.
He said farmers had now resorted to organic fertilisers sold at Teitei Taveuni office, a group focused on using biological farming principles.
He said using organic farming practices also ensured the soil was sustainable for future generations.
“If we respect the soil and the land we have, it will give us back the yield that we desire,” he said.
And if anything Severe TC Winston has taught these farmers on Taveuni, it is to respect the environment in order to maximise their produce.
After the cyclone, farmers are witnessing the return of soil fertility in farms around the island.
Vuna district representative Laisiasa Tuimouta said most farmers in their district were now working with Teitei Taveuni to ensure that fertility was maintained.
Mr Tuimouta said farmers had now realised the effect of excessive fertiliser and weedicide on their farms.
In November last year, members of the Teitei Taveuni Women’s Group said they had found the answer to the island’s infertile farmlands through the use of organic farming practices
This was after members harvested their first taro crops which were larger in size compared with the diminishing sizes that had caused farmers to shift focus to other commodities.
TTWG representative and Australian researcher Jo Dean said dalo harvested at group member Latai Smith’s farm was a remnant of dalo sizes that used to be achieved by farmers in the past.
