Press Release Detail

Families around the country have a reason to smile after reaping the rewards of their hard work under the Ministry of Forestry's Community Seedling Purchasing Programme.

The Ministry has handed out $399, 719 to community nursery vendors and individuals, of which $167, 869 was paid out in the Western Division, $131, 450 in the Central Eastern Division and $100, 400 in the Northern Division.

One such farmer is Rafaele Vuniwai of Korovou Village, Wainikeli in Taveuni, who is now supplying quality planting materials or seedlings to the Ministry.

The seedlings purchased from nursery vendors are used for the plantation drive to reforest degraded land, a Government tree planting programme.

Like many others, Mr Vuniwai has big dreams for his family, especially his children.

The father of 11 was overwhelmed when he received his first payment of $3,500 personally from the Minister for Fisheries and Forestry, Hon. Kalaveti Ravu, earlier this month. Another $15,000 was paid out last week – in just six months of hard work, sacrifice and patience.

When presenting the money, Mr Ravu praised Mr Vuniwai for his commitment to raising native trees and hardwood seedlings, not only as a means of earning money but also because of the positive environmental effects it has.

Since his appointment, Mr Ravu has so far presented cheques for seedling payments in Tailevu, Ovalau, Taveuni and Labasa. 

Testimonial

Mr Vuniwai, a former casual labourer at the Ministry of Agriculture, left his job to venture into the nursery business from scratch. The 42-year-old said that before starting his new ‘passion," he sought the village headman's approval and the head of their mataqali's blessing.

He didn't have any money at first, so he built his nursery using coconut fronds, empty snack packages, chicken packaging and plastic bags as a substitute for polythene bags.

The Ministry later provided him with shalon shades and polythene bags. Mr Vuniwai encountered difficulties during the first phases of propagating; at least 3000 of his 4000 plants were destroyed by unforeseen circumstances.

But he persevered; he started again from scratch, selling around 6000 seedlings so far.

Mr Vuniwai said, "I am so thankful for the support and advice from the forestry staff in Savusavu and Labasa. They believed in me despite all odds. I left my dalo and yaqona plantations to concentrate on this nursery, and today I am reaping the benefits of my hard work and the sacrifices I made for my family.

"In addition to this, it has been the blessing from God that has given me the strength to pursue my dreams and make them a reality."

Mr Vuniwai plans to expand his nursery and construct an adjacent area for a mini-supermarket. He has purchased building supplies to extend his home.

In addition to this, he now employs villagers to help him with potting his soil for sowing – a ripple effect of this programme.

"My priority is to provide for my children’s education and to provide a better living standard for my family so that they can live in comfort," Mr Vuniwai added.

Divisional Forestry Officer Northern, Maleli Nakasava, said Mr Vuniwai’s story is an outstanding example of the positive effects that Government support and direction can have on ordinary citizens.

"Our role is to guide the people we serve and follow up on their progress, as we did with Rafaele (Mr Vuniwai)," he explained.

Other smaller vendors made similar remarks about how beneficial the seedling payment has been for their family.

Iliesa Qiolele of Matainadoi Village in Namuka, Macuata, who received $2,003, said he was able to continue with the construction of his house. The payment arrived on time, allowing him to purchase the urgently required building supplies.

Mereoni Mece, also from the same village, said she was able to purchase building supplies to complete their house after receiving $2,075.

In order to meet her financial needs, she said that she would keep maintaining her nursery and heed the recommendations of forestry officials.

For Solomone Tubuisuru, he was able to prepare for his daughter’s needs as she joined the nursing school in Labasa. 

Ministry engages community nurseries

The Ministry and Fijians care deeply about nature and are planting more trees to fight climate change. Fiji’s forests, mangroves and wetlands help clean our air, safeguard our water, provide important wildlife habitat, and are vital to our economy and quality of life as Fijians.

Studies at the global level show that natural climate solutions, like planting trees, restoring wetlands, protecting grasslands, and creating incentives for farmers to plant cover crops, can also help us get closer to reaching our Paris Agreement targets. Investments in natural climate solutions can create jobs and improve the sustainability of the forest and agriculture sectors, while also safeguarding water sources, providing habitat conservation, and increasing resilience to the impacts of climate change.

The Ministry, under the Reforestation of Degraded Forests Project (RDF Project), has budget provisions to assist community groups and individuals engaged in raising tree seedlings in their nurseries.

The RDF Project is a government-funded project promoting the reforestation of the degraded forest in Fiji, which involves planting 30 million trees in 15 years. One of their major tasks is the coastal rehabilitation and construction of community nurseries.

RDF Forestry Officer Aporosa Ramulo Livani said the plantation drive to reforest degraded lands with two million trees per year had increased the demand for seedlings.

"Securing the services of community nurseries will thus increase the availability of planting materials at the beginning of the planting season," Mr Livani said.

"This saves the time and efforts of the state nurseries to raise all the required number of seedlings for the RDF project," he said.

In his maiden speech in Parliament, the Minister said: "Your Government thanks all Fijians for your commitment to this national initiative and encourages you to continue to plant trees as your efforts not only help in the fight against climate change but also contribute to Fiji’s climate commitments."

According to him, like many other nursery vendors, buying seedlings from community nurseries would raise public awareness of the need to offer high-quality planting materials and enhance stakeholders' socioeconomic status because they will be assured employment and income.

“The Ministry’s 30 Million Trees in 15 Years (30MT15Y) initiative was very encouraging as we were able to engage with communities – women, youth, etc. to set up nurseries and sell seedlings that were used for planting efforts across Fiji. With your Coalition Government we will look to not only planting, but ensuring the plants growth rate is successful,” Mr Ravu said in Parliament.