The Fiji Sugar Corporation faces several challenges, including a high number of inactive growers and a dominance of small-scale producers with low yields.

Chief Executive Bhan Pratap Singh highlighted this during a joint submission to the Standing Committee on Economic Affairs.

Singh revealed that out of 15,400 registered growers, over 35 percent do not actively contribute cane to the mills.

He says this inactivity is spread across all land leases, with 34 percent of native lease growers, 33 percent of state lease growers, and a concerning 47 percent of freehold growers falling into the non-producing category.

He adds that a substantial portion of active growers contribute minimally.

According to Singh, nearly half of farmers produce less than 100 tons of cane annually, collectively accounting for only 15 percent of total cane production.

He says this trend continues with 76 percent of growers producing less than 200 tons, contributing just 44% of the cane supply.

“So, balanced 24% of farmers over 200 tons cane production, they account for 56% of total cane supply to the mills. So, that’s also a big challenge. They are mostly small-scale growers who supply cane to the mill. And there is little chance of increasing productivity and cane quality with these very small producing growers. That’s a serious challenge that we face.”

Singh adds that several factors contribute to these issues, including an aging farmer population with a younger generation less interested in sugarcane cultivation, land tenure uncertainties, lack of mechanization and labor shortages, low returns for small-scale farmers, poor drainage and other infrastructure limitations.

He adds that these challenges need to be addressed to ensure long-term sustainability and growth.