Today marked another significant milestone in the partnership between Fiji and China as the Rice Seeds Dryer was commissioned by the Minister for Agriculture and Waterways, Honourable Vatimi Rayalu.

Hon. Rayalu also received training equipment from the Chinese Government, symbolizing the deepening friendship and cooperation between the two nations and also reflecting the shared commitment to agricultural research, development and training.

Speaking at the Koronivia Research Station this morning, Hon. Rayalu said that the rice dryer equipment and its shed is worth $FJD364,000.00 which was donated and installed by the Chinese Government and will be used to dry rice seeds all year round.

“This is to ensure that a sufficient volume of good quality seeds are available for continuous planting of rice by our farmers. Rice has gradually become a staple diet and is now consumed by every household in Fiji,” explained Hon. Rayalu.

In 2022, Fiji imported 37,600 tonnes of rice which was worth $FJD50.8 million. The current production of rice in Fiji stands around 8,300 tonnes obtained from a land area of 2,445 hectares with a self-sufficiency level of 20%. In the 1980’s, Fiji achieved around 66% self-sufficiency in rice production and with the current agro climatic conditions, excelling further is not impossible.

The Fiji rice survey conducted by the Ministry of Agriculture and Waterways in 2023, revealed that 1,699 households in Fiji are involved in rice cultivation, and the breakdown of households per division are as follows; the Northern division accounts for 75%, followed by 22% in the Western division and 3% here in the Central Division.

“It is good to note that 84% of our rice farmers are interested to plant improved varieties developed by our Ministry’s Research Division. The majority of these farmers prefer to plant the Bold Grain variety while other improved varieties such as Star, Sitara, Cagivou, Deepak and Nuinui are now becoming popular with farmers. It is also encouraging to note that 68.3% of rice farmers are now using mechanical harvesters to harvest their rice, while 46.8% are still using the sickle.”

Hon. Rayalu added there is a need to transform our farming households from subsistence level to semi-commercial and commercial farming levels.

“The introduction of improved varieties, appropriate farm technologies, farm mechanization and improved agronomic practices are essential to ensure an increase in local rice production, increase in consumption of local rice and to reduce our import bill for rice.”

He also emphasised that relevant research, appropriate awareness and technical capacity building training of our farmers and the Ministry’s Extension officers are crucial for developing the sector further and to increase the volume and quality of rice production in Fiji.

“Our Research Division, will need to work on the consumption preferences of rice by our local people. I understand that most of our local people prefer imported rice compared to the locally produced rice varieties due to its taste and texture. This is an issue that we as a Ministry will have to address in collaboration with other stakeholders to meet the demands of our local people and communities,” added Hon. Rayalu.

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