New Rice Mill For The West
SERIOUS EFFORTS TO BOOST LOCAL RICE PRODUCTION IN THE INTEREST OF REDUCING THE NATIONAL IMPORT BILL
Anew rice mill has been established in the West as local rice production increases.
Fiji Rice Limited yesterday said the mill was established through Chinese aid.
Nailaga, Ba, was chosen as the mill site for its centrality to the Western Division.
“The building is ready, but installation within the mill will be carried out by the Chinese, who have been delayed through the impact of COVID-19,” Fiji Rice general manager, Ashrit Pratap, said.
It followed an advertisement by Fiji Rice over expansion plans.
Fiji Rice chairman, Raj Sharma, said the mill would service rice farmers between Raviravi, Ba, and Lautoka.
The Western Division has close to 100 active rice farmers, most of whom are sugar cane farmers.
The new mill is expected to raise the volume of locally-grown rice production from its current levels of an annual 200 tonnes.
Fiji Rice contributes an annual
production volume of 2000 tonnes of rice.
A call for tenders
Fiji Rice Limited and the Ministry of Agriculture have stepped up the local production of homegrown rice – a move that was set in motion in 2019.
“We have raised our self-sufficiency from 15 per cent in 2019 to 17.5 per cent in 2021,” Agriculture minister, Mahendra Reddy, said.
“For the volume of production this year, I have a feeling we would reach 22 per cent of self-sufficiency
by the end of this year.”
Mr Reddy has championed food security efforts.
The steps taken to boost rice farming in the interest of reducing the national import bill, has been realised through a recent advertisement that called for interest from service providers..
Mr Pratap said an estimated allocation of $500,00 was set aside for developments within Fiji Rice.
The effort is indicative of some serious business.
Fiji Rice has called for interest for the following objectives:
■ upgrade of Dreketi Mill building roof,
■ upgrade of a silo,
■ supply and installation of accounting software,
■ dismantle and remove the old wooden building at Vunivivi Hills, Nausori, and
■ supply of a Paddy dryer. Fiji Rice.
The tender closed this week.
Vunivivi Hill property for future development
Fiji Rice expects to clear the property at Vunivivi for further future development.
A building at Vunivivi Hill was proving too costly through maintanence, Mr Pratap said.
Sufficient for now
Fiji Rice’s Dreketi mill operates until midnight, seven days, and was expected to produce 1500 tonnes of rice this year.
“The Dreketi and Ba mills are sufficient to cater for the number of rice farmers we have,” he said.
The Ministry of Agriculture’s We Rice Up programme is supported by farmers in the sugar industry who are requested to plant at least one acre of rice.
Rice consumption is a staple diet in every Fijian household, which was not the case 30 to 40 years ago, Mr Reddy said.
Fiji Rice was established in the 1960s as Rewa Rice Limited.