Fiji: Potato harvest fails target

Fiji Potato farmers did not reach the target for this season.

There are many reasons potato farmers did not reach the estimated target for this season says Senior Agriculture Officer - Adriano Tabualevu.

Tabualevu says they targeted 1330 tonnes of potatoes from 200 tonnes of seeds that were brought in from New Zealand. However only 96 hectares of potato cultivated were of good quality.

“Due to some factors - such as the prolonged wet weather that coincideded with the time of planting, also the quality of some of the seeds - since a few varieties did not thrive and likewise the poor land preparation by some of the farmers.

But the main problem was the bacteria that affected our fields. ”Tabualevu says the last batch of potatoes will be sold out from upper valley in Nadroga/Navosa this week. Fresher Produce Suva buys potatoes for $1.00 per kg and grade B is sold at $0.90 a kg.