Seven villages in the interior highlands of Fiji's main island of Viti Levu have promised the government that their people will stop growing marijuana for sale.
Ten government ministers travelled last week to the remote area of Navatusila to speak with the 800 residents there, assessing what services they need and persuading them to stop growing the illicit drug.
An officer with the Information ministry, Viliame Tikotami, travelled with the ministers.
He says the villagers told the MPs, because there is no road linking them with the outside world, it takes days to get traditional crops of taro, cassava and kumara to the closest market.
"They have been planting marijuana because it's easy to take to the market. On horseback they would be taking any crops on a long way, which means three days."
Mr Tikotami says the lands minister, Ratu Naiqama Lalabalavu, told the villagers that within six months, there would be a road connecting them with the main road to Nadi.
In return, the villagers said they will replace the marijuana crops with traditional ones.
