Caption:Isei Namacamaca showcasing items that are sold in his canteen.
For sixty four year old Isei Namacamaca (64yrs) becoming a farmer was never far from his mind as he grew up in family that planted Yaqona. Speaking to PHVA media team. Namacamaca says that he started helping in the farm from when he could walk and was brought up from small to realize that money is in the land and all that was needed was dedication.
This concept has seen the father of five become a success story for the Partnership in High Value Agriculture (PHVA) Project in Nadarivatu. Namacamaca lives in Taunabe village and the Class 3 drop out says that the land has seen him put his children through school and he now owns three houses, a canteen and a large farm. Apart from this, Namacamaca has been able to build his own nursery with help from the Project.
Namacamaca built his own nursery after hearing a lot about the PHVA nursery and started asking questions on the best way for seed propagation. Despite not being to the nursery physically, Namacamaca says that the plant husbandry training, the financial literacy courses, farm management and the site visits all made him more determined to make his own nursery. He adds he and his two sons set out and cut down some trees and built the shelves for the nursery whilst PCDF provided the cover for the structure.
Speaking to Rakaka, Namacamaca says that if we spend time and money on our land, the return will be huge.
Recently, the Bank of the South Pacific joined PCDF in providing a loan scheme for the farmers.
The PHVA project which assists farmers from the interior of Viti Levu link covering 13 villages and 7 settlements in the Province of Naitasiri, Nadroga/ Navosa and Ba by linking them up with their market is funded by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).
The PHVA project is a pilot project in the highland communities in the Central area of Viti Levu. The Project targets thirteen villages and seven settlements in the Districts of Tavua, Wainimala and Nadrau who are living below the poverty line.
The PHVA project is focused on farmer groups – the identification, formation and training of these groups and the farmers to be effective growers of high value fruits and vegetables that are of the quality, quantity and reliability to be suitable for the local marketing.
The rationale for the PHVA project is that smallholder farmers have good resource potential and the ability to produce marketable surpluses that would increase their incomes and reduce poverty. The farmers have undergone farm business training such as budgeting as well as agriculture husbandry and how to better use their resources and farming tools.
The PHVA is an International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD) funded project and n implemented in Fiji by PCDF with the Fijian Government through the Ministry of Agriculture playing an advisory role.
Available for interview:
PCDF Executive Director Tevita Ravumaidama.
“Empowering communities to make informed decisions about their own development.”
– PCDF Mission Statement
Partners in Community Development Fiji
8 Denison Rd, Suva
Phone: (679) 3314 160
Fax: (679) 3304315
Email: admin@pcdf.org.fj
Website: www.pcdfiji.org
MEDIA RELEASE