Page 24 - IB May 2025

Agriculture Agriculture

FARM WORK PAYS FOR PREMILA DEVI

By Aisha Azeemah

At the crossroads of life, Premila Devi was suddenly widowed at 36,
becoming the sole breadwinner for her family of three.
Her husband was a farmer and Devi worked in a jewellery store.
But death forced her to take a new direction.
Now 50, with 14 acres of sugarcane field in Drasa, outside Fiji’s
second-largest city, Lautoka, Devi is mother to successful young men,
and it’s clear she made the right decision to take on the life of a farmer.
“When my husband passed away, I left my job. My kids were going to
school. I didn’t want to let them go to the farm. So, I started farming,’’
Devi said.
While she had been proud of her husband’s commitment to his work,
Devi had not been prepared in any way for the career and lifestyle
switch. But she was a woman determined to succeed.
“When my husband left us, let’s say for about one and a half years, it
was very hard for me,’’ she said.
“But the people from my village—some of my neighbors—just guided
me. They told me to do this like this, and now you have to do that like
that.
“Nobody was here to drive the tractor. I had to hire a driver from
nearby to get started. Then, slowly I learned how to do it all.’’
With over a decade of experience now, Devi is comfortable with her
role as a farmer and looks back with pride on the successes of her past,
but this doesn’t mean the work is free of trouble.
“The hardest part of farm work is sometimes we don’t find the
labourers,’’ she said.
“This year, I was delayed because of labour shortages. The cane is big
now. I had to hire people but it was hard to find young men for the job.
Now, a lot of the boys who were working on the farm before are on the
wrong track.
“They are smoking, they are taking drugs.”
Despite her grave concern for the country’s youth, Devi remains
determined to overcome the challenges of farming despite labour
shortages, knowing the farm has served her well in tough times over the
years.
“That farm money helped my son in the hospital a long time ago. He
was on life support and I spent Diwali that year in the hospital. But now,
he’s okay,’’ she said.
“I was able to be there in the hospital and pay for everything with the
farm revenue. With the farm income, I’ve repaid a loan, extended my
house, arranged my eldest son’s wedding, and I sent my younger one to
Australia.
“Now, my elder son works for Unit Trust of Fiji, and my younger one is
in Australia, where he’s a chef.”
Devi encourages more women to defy the stereotypes and go into
farming for a better life if that’s where their interests lie.
“Farming is good. You’re the boss of your own time. Good cash crops
will always sell because everybody needs food. People will buy the food
from you and that money will help you feed your own family too,’’ she
said.
One of many women who are thriving in the agricultural industry, Devi
Premila Devi
continues to play her part in ensuring Fiji stays fed.

24 Islands Business, May 2025