With her three-week-old baby in her arms, Repeka Vakaloloma Cati travelled from Namulomulo Village in Vugalei, Tailevu, to attend the three-day 2026 National Women in Agriculture Symposium at the Grand Pacific Hotel in Suva — a decision she says was possible only because her husband encouraged her to go. The mother of seven quietly took notes, determined to turn the opportunity into a means of lifting her family’s farming business.
Cati’s entry into full-time farming was unplanned. She applied to the symposium only after her sister-in-law tagged her in an online post; two weeks later she was told she had been selected. Today she and her husband tend more than 2,000 pineapple plants — a dramatic expansion from the nine started by her father-in-law more than a decade ago — and complement their income by planting dalo during the pineapple off-season. The family markets their produce from a roadside stall, using earnings to pay for food, school needs, church contributions and village obligations.
The farm’s growth has had tangible benefits: last year the family purchased a car with proceeds from pineapple sales, an asset Cati called “very important for a family living in a farming area.” Yet she said her attendance at the symposium was driven by a wish to learn how to scale further. “The networking is the main reason I came. I’ve learnt a lot of new things like e-commerce and how farmers can connect to bigger markets,” she said, also noting the importance of formally registering farms and roadside sales to access government support and avoid legal problems.
Interest has already started to follow. Cati said representatives from organic farming networks and hospitality businesses at the event expressed interest in tasting and potentially sourcing their produce. That attention, she cautioned, will only be useful if the family can provide consistent supply — a constant challenge given the effects of climate change. “The sun is too strong, the rain is heavy and the droughts are longer. Our harvest this year was not as big as last year,” she said, outlining how increasingly erratic weather has reduced yields and forced them to adapt.
Diversification is central to that adaptation. By planting dalo during pineapple down times, Cati and her husband ensure there is always something available to sell, smoothing cash flow for household needs and school fees. Farming still demands long hours and work with limited tools, and Cati spoke candidly about juggling domestic responsibilities and fieldwork. “Managing the house and the farm is not easy,” she said. “But we continue.”
Beyond practical shifts on the farm, Cati framed her participation at the symposium as part of a wider push for women farmers to access markets and state assistance. She urged other mothers balancing family and ambition to be resilient and keep faith. “Mothers are nurturers. Don’t let your challenges pull you back. You have to look forward and keep going,” she said, adding that gratitude and the “breath of life” are her daily reminders.
This latest development — a mother of seven attending a national agriculture symposium with a newborn while running a growing rural enterprise — underlines the changing face of Fijian agriculture. As women like Cati gain training in e-commerce, market linkages and formal registration, small roadside farms may be better placed to weather climate shocks and tap into larger markets.
Leave a comment