Picture: Minister Reddy with Natabe and Vagavaga Rice Farmers Cluster 

Three rice farmers’ clusters of Korokadi in Bua received portable rice mills as an incentive to increase rice production in the area for local consumption.

While handing out the rice mills to the clusters recently, Minister for Agriculture, Waterways and Environment Hon. Dr. Mahendra Reddy said the rice mill was being handed over solely for the purpose of milling their rice for their own consumption and not for rice milling to be sold for commercial purposes. 

"This rice mill is supposed to incentivise you to grow more rice but that rice you'll grow, you grow for the market and it'll be sold to Fiji Rice Limited. We don't want you to use the rice mill to mill the rice and sell it in the market, that's not the purpose of the rice mill," he added.

Minister Reddy elaborated that the portable rice mill being distributed by the Ministry was not intended for large scale milling of rice paddy in large quantities as this could damage the machine, which was meant only for small quantities of rice for home consumption. 

"We’re expecting that this will further boost you to grow more rice, and expand your rice cultivation. Of course you'll raise the issues about ploughing delays, and drainage but we're investing and every year we are pouring in money into this area but production levels are going down, but we hope that production trends will reverse and we will see more rice being grown here," he said.

Hon. Reddy has also advised farmers of Korokadi against raising livestock within the designated irrigation scheme areas.

"Please note that this Korokadi scheme is designated for rice, not for livestock, not for sheep, not for goat. 

"This is a dedicated area for rice. If you want to raise goats, and sheep, sign a letter and give it to us and then you'll be withdrawn from this scheme, we're not forcing anyone to grow rice and neither are we forcing anyone to grow cassava, dalo or yaqona, we believe in farmers growing a particular crop or raising a particular livestock that one, they have skillsets in and two, that they see good profits from and therefore a market, so if all the farmers here sign a letter saying that you want to raise sheep or goat, then that's perfectly fine, you can concentrate your efforts on that and we will support you with it too," he said.

"But what we don't want is to continue and maintain drainage, canals, irrigation systems and floodgates etc and then we see goats and livestock being raised in this area, you cannot do that, it is illegal, under the Irrigation Act, you cannot grow anything else within this area apart from rice because this is a dedicated irrigation area. 

Minister Reddy has also advised them to form a cooperative and to look at securing one third payment for a tractor to be owned and operated by them as a cooperative tractor.

Meanwhile another two portable rice mills were handed over to rice farmers clusters in Natabe and Vagavaga respectively.

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