Landowners Seed Fund Grant Assistance handover

Prime Minister and Chairman of the TLTB Board of Trustees Hon. Josaia V. Bainimarama distributed seed fund grants to 77 landowners and landowner groups in nausori on Wednesday 17th Ocotober 2018.

Apart from 131 leases given to individual iTaukei landowners and landowning units in 2017 we have continued to support them in their agricultural-based projects and today will be the second time that we made it a point to financially assist them to achieve their interest in business.

The purpose of this grant was basically to provide support for landowner’s development, to realise better utilization of their land and also to encourage landowner participation in the financial inclusion space.

The first Landowners Seed Fund Grant Assistance was introduced by the Board in 2017 whereby $200,000 was shared amongst 31 successful applicants. Those that were helped were mostly participants in the agriculture sector and also in eco-tourism projects.

This year we increased the total amount of the grant and today 77 landowners and landowner groups will share a total of $350,000 ranging from $3,000 to $7,000 for each grant recipient to assist them carry out agricultural and business projects on their land. This funding assistance is from the Board as part of sharing its profits with the landowners and also a part of the Board’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) program. This partnership we hope to continue in future to encourage landowners to lease their own lands and make a living out of it.

Our effort in helping the landowners participate in Fiji’s national economic development was one of the factors that contributes to the formation of the Landowners Affairs Unit within TLTB and that is to specifically look after the interest of the landowners. This is one of an integral function of the Board as it solely focuses on the needs of the landowners, their land resources and their prospects for the future.The move to assist the landowners in their projects and developments is an area that we feel is the TLTB’s pathway for the future. And while the landowners are becoming more educated and aware of their opportunities and potentials; there is an urge from the TLTB Board to progress and expand on service levels to better assist them.

The initiative would also assure that there will be better utilization of the land through the landowners participation themselves that will indirectly translate towards the development of the economy and also through the byproducts of food security, more Yaqona farming, more available housing lots and more jobs created through other self-income generating projects.

Hon. Bainimarama congratulated each recipient of this year’s Seed Fund Grant and hoped that whatever little help theycan get from TLTB would go a long way and ultimately assist support your passion to better utilization of your land and assist you grow in your business aspirations.

“We also hope that by putting these grants to better use can translate to small business models that can be replicated by other landowners in the future,” he added.