Peceli Naviticoko 
[Photo: FILE]
The Ministry of Agriculture is offering farmers training and technical guidance to produce their own pineapple planting material as the government struggles to meet growing demand for seedlings and cuttings.
Minister for Agriculture Tomasi Tunabuna says government research stations are facing limitations in land, labour and funding, making it difficult to supply all farmers requesting planting material.
He says the Seaqaqa research station, which serves farmers in the Northern Division and Viti Levu, has seen high demand, resulting in delays in supplying planting material.
“The solution to that is to request our Ministry staff to come and train them on how they can produce their own planting material on their farm.”
He says the approach is not limited to pineapple but also applies to other crops, as government research stations do not have the capacity to meet every farmer’s demand.
Tunabuna says the training will help farmers become more self-reliant in producing planting material while easing the pressure on government research stations.
