Property rights (vanua) in the Fiji Islands: the land issue
and how it affects the country´s sugar cane industry

Abstract: The purpose with the essay is to describe how the current property rights
of land in the Fiji Islands affects the sugar industry in the country. The
purpose will be reached by using neoclassical theory and by studying the
legal, moral and economic factors, such as property right laws, politic and
valuations based on ethnical and historical traditions, governmental
economic support, efficiency and productivity. Factors that limit the sugar
cane industry in the Fiji Islands, by restrictions in the property rights.
A field study based on interviews with organizations in the Fijian
Sugarcane industry and sugarcane farmers will answer how the conclusions
will be drawn. It can be established that the sugar production in the Fiji
Islands have been strongly effected by the country´s leasing system. The
insecurity the leasing system means in combination with the relatively high
rents makes it hard for the farmers to earn profit enough to make
necessarily investments. The Fijian sugar production is out of date, both
at farms and within the Fiji Sugar Cane Growers Counsel´s workning area.
For example could crop rotation be used in a larger extent, as water
systems and replanting. Since it´s the Fiji Island`s largest export
product, conslusions can be drawn that this might affect the whole
conuntry`s economy.