About 20 farmers who are members of the Naleba Cooperative in Labasa will benefit from the new portable rice mill they received on Wednesday.
Minister for Agriculture Mahendra Reddy said this year’s rice production was ten times more compared to previous years.
“There has been massive rice production from Tabia, Laqere, Seaqaqa, Wainikoro and Labasa,” Mr Reddy said.
He thanked the farmers for their contribution and for this reason the ministry had stepped forward to assist them.
During his two-day visit to the North he also handed over portable rice mills to Nasese cluster group, Qeledamu Cooperative, Natabe cluster group, Navita cluster group and Nasealevu Waitaba cluster group.
Naleba Cooperative president Amrit Lal said amidst the rising cost of machines, fuel and food, this assistance would ease farmers’ burden.
He said some farmers who wanted to give up on rice farming were motivated to invest more after the handover.
“We are thankful to the Government for providing such kind of assistance to rice farmers, especially in remote areas,” Mr Lal said.
“We live about 23 kilometers from Labasa Town and there are many who solely depend on rice farming for income and daily consumption.”
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