LOOKING after a seven-acre vegetable farm requires a lot of work but Vikash Ajay Nand manages with the help of his family.
Mr Nand, who is a vegetable farmer in Naulu, has been a farmer for the last 12 years and has seen his farm grow from one acre to now covering more than seven acres of farmland.
Mr Nand said he never thought he would be so committed to vegetable farming especially in an area that was heavily populated.
"My father had taught me everything I know about farming because he has been doing it for the last 30 years," Mr Nand said.
"Sometimes I get good money from farming but it also depends on the demand and how much I can produce in a week from the farm.
"I have been able to provide for my family and assist my father with his farm from whatever income I get from my farm."
He said after harvesting, he sold his produce at the local market.
"Sometimes I get $800 in a week but it depends on the quality of the produce and if it is in high demand," he said.
"But if business is slow, we can only get $75 in a day, so we need to work twice as hard in harvesting our produce so that we have a lot to sell to cover the cost from the previous day.
"I have been assisted by government through the rural outer island agriculture development program (ROI) and I was able to earn a lot from that project."
He said he had to relocate his farm last month because of the recent development in the area but he was able to harvest his entire crop on time.
"Government has helped me a lot in terms of land and drainage work," he said.
Provincial Administrator Rewa, Ravindra Narayan said government was always there to assist farmers who were willing to expand their business.
He said Ajay's vegetable farm was one of the farms that was being assisted under the government's ROI projects in the Rewa Province.