APART from providing much needed income, the yaqona boom on Kadavu and Lomaiviti has also enticed young people to return to their villages.
Speaking during the national resource fair and learning exchange workshop in Suva yesterday, principal agriculture officer eastern Epeli Dugucagi said young people were leaving the city and returning to the islands.
He said the trend was a good sign because a lot of villages in both island groups were becoming desolate.
Mr Dugucagi said though data was unavailable, the movement of people was evident in villages such as Sawaieke, Gau.
Mr Dugucagi said this was even true for villages in the Lau Group where retirees were returning to their villages.
He said the ministry was trying to develop agricultural commodity development strategies to boost productivity and entice people in urban areas to move back to their villages.
He said this was aligned to plans to create millionaires within the rural setting.
Referring to figures from the Bureau of Statistics, Mr Dugucagi said the village population continued to increase annually by 2 per cent.
