Several sugarcane farmers in Seaqaqa have begun exploring legal action after the iTaukei Land Trust Board (TLTB) declined to renew agricultural leases that once sustained whole families, leaving some residents dependent on social welfare. The latest development centres on Natua subdivision, where farmer Rup Wati says her family’s sugarcane land was taken back in 2020 and the area has since been subdivided for residential and commercial use.
Wati, who still lives on a residential block now covered by a renewed 99-year lease, said the loss of the sugarcane lease has forced her extended family to rely on government welfare payments as their primary income. “We now depend on social welfare payments as our main source of income has been taken away from us,” she said, describing the emotional and financial strain on her household. She added that children in the family have been pushed to look for work, and that a loan she took from the Fiji Development Bank to start a small car wash has become difficult to service — a shortfall her son has stepped in to cover.
TLTB has confirmed that the land in question within Natua, Seaqaqa, has been subdivided into 13 residential lots and two commercial lots. In a statement posted on its official Facebook page, the board defended its decisions as being in the “long-term interests of landowners,” saying previous leases granted under the Agricultural Landlord and Tenant Act (ALTA) generated lower returns than leases under the iTaukei Land Trust Act. The board reiterated that agricultural lease renewals are contingent on factors such as timely rental payments, productive use of the land, arrears, and assessments of the “highest and best use” of land in the future.
As uncertainty and anger have mounted, a number of affected farmers have sought legal advice. Wati confirmed that several cane farmers had already met with a lawyer to discuss potential legal options following the non-renewal of their leases. Questions sent to TLTB chief executive Solomoni Nata were not answered by the time of publication.
TLTB said its management team will visit Seaqaqa and Natua to meet with both farmers and landowners to address concerns and clarify the board’s approach to lease renewals. That outreach is now being watched closely by tenants and community leaders, who see it as a chance to press for either reconsideration of decisions or clearer compensation and transition support.
The dispute underscores the tensions between efforts to maximise landowner returns through residential and commercial development and the livelihoods of smallholder sugarcane growers who have farmed leased land for years. For families like Wati’s, the shift away from agricultural leases has turned a steady, if modest, farming income into uncertainty and reliance on welfare, and has prompted the first formal steps toward court action in the Seaqaqa area. How TLTB’s forthcoming meetings and any legal challenges play out will determine whether affected tenants regain access to land or receive other remedies.
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