The Ministry of Agriculture, this week, assisted a remote and rural farming community located between the borders of Ra and Naitasiri with horse-driven farming implements.
While handing over the equipment, Minister for Agriculture, Mahendra Reddy said he was made aware of the level of production and quality of tausala dalo from the farmers in Nukulau Village - who are located in the District of Nasau, in the Province of Ra - as well as the difficulties they face in trying to recover from the devastation of Tropical Cyclone Winston.
“The horse-drawn plough, harness and implements are just the beginning of the Ministry’s assistance. I understand TC Winston destroyed your farms and you have been trying to rebuild since then,” he told the farmers.
Dr Reddy urged the farmers to utilise the assistance provided wisely and said that he looked forward to seeing crop production levels increase.
Nasau District Representative, Meli Tokalau thanked the Minister for taking the time out to visit them and mentioned that he was the first Minister for Agriculture to ever set foot in Nukulau Village.
Mr Tokalau said they would ensure to fully utilise the horse-drawn implements for their land preparation activities.
Furthermore, Mr Tokalau said that TC Winston destroyed all of their crops and despite their efforts to regain pre-Winston production levels, they were unable to do so, since they didn't have the appropriate planting materials. He mentioned that the exporters then stopped coming to them because they were not able to produce.
He also stated that now that they had been assured of assistance for planting materials, it gave them hope that they were on the right track.