The contribution by rice farmers towards boosting the Northern economy is an area now under priority by the Office of the Commissioner Northern.
At the Rice Field Day held in Taganikula in Macuata recently, the Acting Northern commissioner Alipate Bolalevu stressed the need for rice farmers to work together as part of efforts to revitalise Fiji’s rice industry.
“We have been moving around Macuata stressing this and encouraging farmers to work on their farmers, it’s for their own livelihood and for our economy.”
Mr Bolalevu said the farmers’ contribution to the rice industry’s development is a critical target for this year and it has to be achieved.
“The North is now the target for rice production, it is the centre for both irrigated and rain fed sectors and it is a subsistence crop for Fiji.”
An average of 855 hectares of land is being eyed by the government for rice farming in Macuata this year with a budget of $396,559. More than 2,000 tonnes of rice is also expected to be produced from the proposed land for rice cultivation.
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