Permanent Secretary for Agriculture, Ritesh Dass [Source: Twitter]

The Ministry of Agriculture through its new Intensive Dairy Farms Programme will be helping farmers set up two farms.

Permanent Secretary for Agriculture, Ritesh Dass says this will improve milk production and reduce the import bill.

The Ministry will provide $300,000 per recipient.

Dass says they intend to set a benchmark to achieve self-sufficiency in local milk production.

“What normally happens with an intensive dairy setup is that it is in a controlled environment so the output is higher. You can control the production level and increase it over time.”

The two intensive dairy farms will be a first for Fiji and will be supplied with livestock that can produce more milk.

Dass says the existing dairy farmers will continue to play a vital role in meeting the liquid milk demand locally.