The owner of Kaybee’s Farm, Katarina Senabu Baleisuva, was among farmers devastated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
She operates an aquaculture farm in Sauniwaqa agricultural subdivision in Nakasi outside Suva.
As part of her message on International Rural Women’s Day on October 15, she called on women across the country to have a positive mindset during this pandemic.
She started the business 20 years ago after securing a piece of land in Nakasi, and she attributes her passion for the farming business to her upbringing. “I grew up in a fishing family in Savusavu and that is where I got the passion,” she said.
“This land is ideal for tilapia farming, as a result we were able to design four fishing ponds.”
Ms Baleisuva said she is the first tilapia farmer in the country to produce and supply only male cultured fingerlings to commercial and semi-commercial tilapia farmers.
“As a woman growing up in rural Savusavu, I am well acquainted with what our parents taught us, and in addition to farming fish I have a few beehives and farm vegetables and root crops on part of the land.
“I would like to encourage women not to be discouraged by the crisis and uncertainty COVID-19 presents, but to remain focused and go after other ventures that can generate income for them and their families.”
Meanwhile, Ministry of Women director women Selai Korovusere said in Fiji some of women in rural areas had progressed to success after starting small ventures and are earning more than their counterparts in urban areas.
“The International Day for Rural Women celebrates the empowerment of women in rural areas who have been offered an enabling environment to pursue income-generating projects which not only benefits them but also their families,” she said.
