AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE HIGHLIGHTED TO CENTRAL DIVISION FARMER
Farmers of Baulevu, Naitasiri have been urged to use available Government development assistance programmes to enhance local agricultural production.
Minister for Agriculture Mahendra Reddy informed farmers of the Ministry’s intent to actively promote commercial agriculture, emphasising their role in advancing the sector by utilising Government’s available resources, and to work collaboratively with the Ministry to implement initiatives.
“I must commend you all for the effort that you tirelessly put into your farms, whether it be livestock or crops, you play an important role in feeding the nation and contributing to the country’s Gross Domestic Product.
“The Ministry is committed to boosting the agriculture sector to another level to increase agricultural production through commercial farming, we will provide you with a package in terms of farm roads, it may not be done in a week’s time or in a month but we want to do it by December,” said Minister Reddy.
“Another alternative for your farm roads is that we will bring our machines, drainage will be done along the farm roads and if there is gravel somewhere which affects waterways from having free flow of water and thus contributes to flooding, we can clear the waterways and at the same time use that material for your farm road,” he said.
“Inform us and let us know, so in that area, we will use the gravel effectively and in that way we can complete your farm roads quickly.
“We have done a lot of farm roads and drainage along this area and we also want to complete your in-field drainage within your farms to improve work efficiency,” he said.
Farmers were also advised to continuously liaise with Ministry officials in order to be kept abreast with the latest technologies and assistance.
Meeting specific market demands was also reiterated to farmers as securing a market for their produce was important, with farmers being urged to work with the relevant authority.
In addition, Minister Reddy advised livestock farmers on the benefits of Juncao grass and encouraged them to take advantage of the Juncao technology.
Source: DEPTFO News