User:RitzGosai/sandbox

Fijian Agriculture is largely dependant on sugarcane farming which accounts for a large percentage of the agricultural GDP [[1]]. Vegetable farming occurs mostly at subsistence level (on communal land in Fijian villages or privately at home in terms of backyard gardening). Few commercial farms are scattered around the country. However, vegetable farming gained momentum during the downfall of the sugarcane industry from the year 2000 onwards. The livestock farming industry continues to tread along. Many farmers opted to overturn their sugarcane plantations and produce commercial lines of fruits like papaya [[2]], banana [[3]], pineapple [[4]]; short cycle vegetables such as long bean [[5]] and cabbage [[6]] and annual crops like okra [[7]]. Export of such commodities has risen a small percentage due to this. Just recently, the Government in its pursue to reduce the food import bill introduced potato [[8]] farming on lands lying idle (because they were either under native-land agreement or amidst leasing problems) in the interiors of Nadarivatu. Fiji imports around $FJD19 million worth of potatoes every year. This venture has proven to be highly successful in the Western Division of the country with 530 farmers opting for potato farming in 2011 as compared to 350 last year Text. This number were either sugarcane or vegetable farmers before.

With 64.9 percent of Fiji's land area being forest and woodland, timber is also economically important, especially pine and mahogany. Attempts since the mid-1980s to bolster the industry, and offset Fiji's dependence on sugar, have encouraged significant strides in timber production. In 1999 timber provided US$27.6 million in export revenue, a 45 percent increase over 1994 levels.

The fishing industry, especially tuna harvesting, also shows significant promise. Fiji controls a 200-nautical mile (370.4-kilometer) economic exclusion zone around its shoreline. In 1998 fishing brought Fiji US$24.9 million in overseas earnings, and tuna is Fiji's fourth largest export earner.

Fiji also exports copra (dried coconut meat), ginger, and coconut oil, as well as bananas, rice (a product for which Fiji is aiming at self-sufficiency), cereals and vegetables, pineapples and other tropical fruit. Copra, in particular, has benefitted from the removal in 1998 of the ban on its export; since the licensing of a second copra-buying company, prices for producers have increased considerably. The discovery of kava's (a shrubby pepper) medicinal qualities and its potential as a pharmaceutical ingredient have also fueled the growth of a small but promising export industry. Text

Riten Gosai 12:40, 10 March 2011 (UTC)