Business

Western farmers receive portable mills

August 9, 2022 5:10 am

Minister for Agriculture, Dr Mahendra Reddy says it has been the Ministry’s aim to provide each settlement or farmers’ cluster that was cultivating rice with their own portable mill.

The Ministry of Agriculture in its continued efforts to address long-standing issues affecting rice farmers has distributed more portable mills to identified farming clusters.

The Lautoka Rice Farmers Cluster, Nabila Rice Farmers Cluster and Tunalia Rice Farmers Cluster in Nadi and the Namau Rice Farmers group in Ba have each received a portable rice mill.

This will address the issue of lack of milling facilities and directly resolve transportation costs borne by the farmers.

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Minister for Agriculture, Dr Mahendra Reddy says major drawback for rice farmers was the lack of facilities closer to them.

Reddy says it has been the Ministry’s aim to provide each settlement or farmers’ cluster that was cultivating rice with their own portable mill.

The portable rice mill is part of the European Union-funded Pro-Resilient Fiji project which is implemented by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

This will support the Ministry’s wider aim to ensure food and income security for Fijian farmers.