MARAIA VULA
suva
Standard Concrete Industries Limited, a division of Basic Industries Limited, is targeting the sugar industry in their business strategy.
Standard Concrete Industries general manager Mosese Volavola highlighted this during the Standard Concrete Industries’ Aglime Workshop at Studio 6 in Suva yesterday.
Mr Volavola said “The sugar industry is basically the biggest group of farmers in our business strategy as they will demand the biggest volume of Aglime.
“It’s critical for us to get Fiji Sugar Corporation on board because their potential demand for Aglime is 40,000 tonnes a year.
“With those volumes, we can sustain production of aglime locally even probably reduce the cost.”
The Ministry of Agriculture was proud to support the initiative by the company said the Permanent Secretary for Agriculture Ropate Ligairi while opening the workshop.
Mr Ligairi said: “We are thankful to company for steeping up and organising this workshop as we fight for the improvement of our economy and our industry.
Sugar trial
FSC cane development manager Samuela Railoa stressed they were still on a trial basis with Aglime since last year.
He said they are still awaiting the results from the trials done in the last planting season the past year.
“These final products will be harvested in November as a lot of farmers are looking forward to the final product.”
Mr Railoa highlighted the corporation would soon be signing a memorandum of understanding with Basic Industries for a collaboration work based on the aglime trials.
“We will identify farms that are below the threshold and inform farmers that we want to do a trial than Basic Industries will supply the product for free,” he said.
“With the result, we will report back to them so this is all in the agreement.”
Another commodity
Another commodity eyed by Standard Concrete Industries is dalo.
Mr Volavola said: “We are targeting famers all over Fiji to give them a chance to listen to the benefits of aglime and how they can benefit from it.
“This also includes the dalo farmers. These are people we are targeting to use Aglime.”
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