Minister visits agriculture offices
The Minister for Agriculture, Rural and Maritime Development, Waterways and Environment Hon. Dr Mahendra Reddy recently visited agriculture offices in the Western Division to familiarise himself with the operations of the ministry and determine the areas of improvement.
Mr Reddy said the purpose of the visit was to get a good understanding of the resources the Ministry has on the ground, staff capacity and various assistance and development programs of the Ministry.
“Once we have determined that, we can design programmes to better assist our farmers. We have to ensure that the Ministry is well-resourced to meet the expectations of ordinary Fijians, especially in the agriculture sector.”
Minister Reddy visited agriculture offices in Ba, Lautoka and Nadi as well as Legalega and Nawaicoba Research Stations.
“I have a better understanding of what is happening in regards to sheep breeding, the development of new crop varieties and where we are in respect to supporting our farmers for certain crops,” he said. “There are a few more research stations that I need to visit, following which we will announce some new programs for the benefit of farmers. The main objectives of the Ministry are food security, development and expansion of the agriculture sector,” he added.
Hon. Dr Reddy will be visiting research stations in the Central and Northern divisions soon.
He encouraged the Ministry officials to be responsible in the roles they play.