Taveuni north dalo

www.fijitimes.com - Wednesday, January 06, 2010

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Children help uproot dalo at a farm in Taveuni

THE vanua of Taveuni has urged dalo agents buying from their farmers to pay immediately when collecting the crops from the farms.

Epeli Matata, the mata ni vanua for the Tui Cakau, said it was sad to see agents taking the crops but not paying the farmers of Taveuni.

Their concerns follow complaints from dalo farmers of Delaivuna who sold to the Agricultural Marketing Authority before Christmas but have not yet received a cent.

Mr Matata said Taveuni dalo farmers depended on the crops for survival and these payment arrangements were not good.

He said farmers could get discouraged from planting dalo and this was something the vanua of Taveuni did not want to see happen because the commodity was the main income earner for the islanders.

He said there were a lot of agents on the island and transactions should be as transparent as possible.

Meanwhile, the police have urged farmers to be less trusting and to deal only with reputable agents. They urged members of the public to report any dalo thefts to the police.