A FEW farmers at Maro, Sigatoka are contemplating leaving sugarcane farming and switching to other crops so they can provide for their families.
Mohammed Yusuf, 66, has joined the move with other farmers in the area to try out other crops, an initiative he hopes would help his family foot their bills.
For the first time this year, he tried out capsicum farming and harvested $1000 worth of the vegetable.
A few other farmers in the Maro sector have also opted for cassava and other vegetables and have all earned “good money” from their harvests.
“We got a good market in cassava and it’s a doorstep business where money is brought right to us and we are already making up our minds on moving to other crops,” said Mashud Khan, another farmer in Maro.
“It is not bad at all to try out other crops because we can earn good money from it and we will provide everything our family needs. Sugarcane farming is something we grew up with, however, we are facing a lot of issues and this is why we want to venture to other means of earning money,” he said.
Two other growers, Vijay Singh and Jahud Khan, have also joined fellow farmers in opting to farm other crops so they can earn more and pay ground rent and provide for their families.
