NEW INDUSTRY IN FIJI

Press, Volume XCVIII, Issue 28869, 14 April 1959, Page 20

NEW INDUSTRY IN FIJI

First Cocoa Crop Harvested

As part of a Fiji Agricultural Department campaign to diversify the economy of the islands, cocoa trees were planted systematically in 1953 and 1954. Fiji has now harvested its first crop, and prospects are good for the development of a profitable industry.

The South Pacific Commission, arranged in 1952 for a report'on the suitability for cocoa growing of various South Pacific islands. The commission engaged Mr D. H. Urquhart, former director of Agriculture on the Gold Coast and a world authority on cocoa, for the task. The story of the current development has been told by Mr L. W. Harwood, a senior agricultural officer in Fiji, in the South Pacific Commission’s quarterly bulletin. The Urquhart report showed that Fiji’s climate and soil were satisfactory, with a minimum of 170,000 acres eminently suitable and another 280,000 acres worthy of further investigation. To date. 1387 farmers of all races have planted 4313 acres, and sufficient seedlings have been issued to plant a further 1695 acres. “With land available and a rapidly increasing population, the stage seems set for rapid expansion and a profitable industry, provided export standards are maintained,” says Mr Harwood