The Agriculture Ministry in Fiji will not hesitate to facilitate requests by farmers around the country.
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Speaking to rice farmers from Korokadi in Bua who had requested for a rice harvester in the area to ease workloads, Agriculture Minister Inia Seruiratu said he would have to send his staff to assess the rice farming yield in the area first, The Fiji Times reports.
Seruiratu said if the area could yield a good harvest of rice the ministry would be ready to provide farmers with a harvester.
"We will provide assistance to rice farmers if they can assure us that they can give us a return for the assistance that they receive by increasing their productivity," he said.
The Soon To Be Constructed $0.5 Million New Rewa Rice Mill In Dreketi, Macuata Is Expected To Increase Rice Production In The North.
Speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony of the mill in Dreketi yesterday the company's board chairman Raj Sharma said the new mill would have the capacity to mill 10 tonnes per day.
Sharma said the investment was moderate but the output of 10 tonnes equated to 3000 tonnes from 300 days in a year compared with the forecast of 1300 tonnes expected. "Should the product increase, Rewa Rice will get another mill," he said.
Ginger farmers in Naitasiri, Tailevu and Ra who were affected by Severe Tropical Cyclone Winston received fertilisers from the Fiji Crop and Livestock Council in Muanaweni in Naitasiri yesterday.
FCLC chief executive officer Jiu Daunivalu said the gift was made possible through the Chamber of Agriculture of New Caledonia, who had contributed $133,000 to the organisation after the Category Five disaster last year.
"More than 50 farmers in Naitasiri received the 'Tei-Tei Blend' fertilisers to assist in their farms and the aid comes at the right time, when the farmers are still undergoing economic recovery from the cyclone," Daunivalu said.
"The president of the Fiji Ginger Farmers Association, Josua Ratilava, has also passed on the gratitude of the farmers to the Chamber of Agriculture of New Caledonia.
"The donation is also made as part of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed by the FCLC and the Chamber of Agriculture of New Caledonia last year. ■
A trailing cold front in connection with a low pressure system currently moving east across the Great Lakes toward New England will bring a chance of rain into the eastern U.S. on this first day of November following an exceptionally dry October for this part of the country.