Helping hands try to improve Fiji rice yield

SUVA — After days of torrential rain in the wet season in the Fijian town of Nausori, Chen Huazao anxiously rushed to the paddy field to assess his rice crop, planted in November.

Wading through the muddy field, Chen’s heart sank as he saw the almost mature rice plants flattened by heavy downpours.

“We’re likely to face a decline in the yield of this test field,” said Chen, team leader of the China-Aid Agricultural Development Project on rice planting in Fiji. “Fortunately, crops in the other two demonstration fields were undamaged.”

In another unaffected test plot planted with NP918, a Chinese hybrid rice variety, Wu Mingkui, an expert in seed breeding, was measuring the yield of the ripe crop.

After completing the work he said the yield of this Chinese rice variety was more than seven tons a hectare, two to three times the yield of local rice varieties in Fiji.

Wu is among a team of six Chinese experts who arrived in Fiji eight months ago to help the country improve its rice production.

Rice farming is a challenging job because heavy rain, flooding and cyclones often destroy crops in Fiji and other Pacific island countries, which are highly vulnerable to climate change.

“Despite this, we can help local rice farmers achieve high yield by using high-quality rice varieties and technology-driven farming techniques with scientific cultivation management measures,” Chen said.

Rice has been cultivated in Fiji for many decades, serving as a major source of food for its population.

However, the country’s rice industry has faced challenges in recent years, marked by a decline in both lands and production, mainly because of traditional farming practices, labor shortages and the impacts of climate change.

Fiji produces less than 20 percent of its rice consumption needs, more than 80 percent of it being imported, said Tekini Nakidakida, deputy secretary for agriculture development of Fiji’s Ministry of Agriculture and Waterways.

To achieve rice self-sufficiency the government has established an initiative called We Rice Up, aiming to increase the production and productivity of rice crops in the country, Nakidakida said.

“That’s why we need more cooperation with China.”

By providing expertise, machinery, seeds and agricultural experts, Nakidakida said, China’s support for Fiji’s rice industry will contribute to the realization of its rice selfsufficiency goals.

Since 2015 China has carried out two phases of agricultural aid projects to help improve rice production in Fiji. Chen’s team is now busy with the third phase.

During the first two phases the team rejuvenated five local rice varieties, introduced 16 rice varieties, provided machinery for mechanized rice cultivation and trained more than 2,500 local farmers in high-yield cultivation techniques.

However, they have encountered several difficulties in their efforts to improve local rice production, one being the shortage of labor.

“We face a labor shortage because many of our young people are emigrating in search of easier or more lucrative work,” Nakidakida said.