Simione Tuvuki 
Members of the Vunivau Tiritiri Farmers Cooperative in Bua will now be able to achieve maximum yield through the provision of a rice harvester.
The government assisted the Cooperative in purchasing the machine, worth $50,000.
Cooperative President, Suresh Chand says they can now harvest rice on time as they do not have to hire the harvester.
“This will surely improve the tonnage because the major drawback was harvesting. Once you plant rice, it is always a worry for a harvester to harvest the rice on time. This year, many of the farmers’ rice got bad because they could not harvest on time because there was no harvester. It is very hard to maintain the quality if the rice is not harvested on time.”
Cooperative President, Suresh Chand.
Chand says this has boosted the morale of farmers, who have plans to expand their farms, which will eventually boost rice production in the area.
The machine will benefit 42 farmers in Bua.
The cooperative paid one-third, while the government paid two-thirds of the total cost of the harvester.
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