Local farmer relishes potential in Smart Farmer Program
A subsistent farmer in Rigo was full of praise for Trukai Industries' program Smart Farmer, which aimed to enhance rural farmers' knowledge of their local expertise.
Jack Kalogo a village farmer from Kemabolo in Central Province was a participant of the Smart Farmer Program held in June at the Pacific Adventist University in Port Moresby.
He described attending this enrichment program as a life-changing aspect of his ongoing subsistent farming activity in the village.
It all started when Kalogo first learned about the program when his wife attended the three-day Central Music Festival in Kwikila in May, where she visited Trukai’s Agriculture stall and collected a Smart Farmer registration form.
“My wife showed me the registration form and I got excited because this was something that I had been looking for,” said Kalogo.
With the closing date for the Smart Farmer applications nearing, Kalogo had to move fast to gather all the required documents.
He described his process of meeting the deadline as difficult, but he managed to get all the required documents to submit his application.
“The music festival ended on the 26th of May and the deadline for applications was on the 31st, my wife came back two days after the show and gave me the application form.
“I had to rush to get my medical checks at Hula, then make my way to Port Moresby to find the Trukai office to drop off the application form,” Kalogo explained.
Kalogo has been growing bananas and yams on his land for many years, however, this program was a different learning practice for the experienced farmer, where he was taught different farming techniques and ways to grow rice.
Jack said the Smart Farmer Program has given him an insight to modify his farming practice in the village.
“As a village farmer, attending this smart farmer program, I have learned new ideas, especially with growing rice, which has helped me build on my farming experience,” Jack said.
This new information will elevate agriculture and rice farming in Jack's village, building a strong knowledge base for farmers to be fully capable of transitioning from dry farming to irrigation farming.
Four training modules within the Smart Farmer Program are tailored to suit participants of the program.
These include Module 1 - Introduction to Rice, Module 2 – Rice Environments and Irrigation Farming, Module 3 – Rice Cultivation Cycle, and Module 4 – Rice Farming Business & Management.
Module 3, Rice Cultivation Cycle was an interesting unit for Jack as he explained that it had broadened his knowledge of the importance of creating proper nurseries to do direct planting, to harvest rice appropriately.
“I want to be a model farmer and go through the program successfully and be equipped with this knowledge to share with my family and the community in terms of rice farming,” Kalogo said.
Kalogo has six hectares of land and has developed a small portion to grow bananas and yam.
But through the Smart Farmer Program, he has planned for him and his family to fully utilize their land to grow rice.
The Smart Farmer Program has inspired many farmers to begin irrigation rice farming, for Kalogo, this has created a new opportunity for him and his family to grow and sell rice. He says this has always been a dream and is glad to have gone through the program.
“I have always wanted to make use of my land, thank you to Trukai and the Smart Farmer Program, I can fulfill this vision as the program has better equipped me to do this,” Jack said.
In June and July, 97 participants attended the fourth batch of the Smart Farmer Program held in Lae Unitech and 101 farmers were part of the 2nd Batch at PAU in Port Moresby.
Trukai Industries’ partnerships with both the University of Technology and the Pacific Adventist University will enable participants of the Smart Farmer Program to share and access classrooms, research laboratories, and farm or field facilities.