Farmers of remote Sudest Island in Milne Bay receive assistance

Another group of farmers received a mini rice mill this week under food security program initiated by Milne Bay provincial government.

This time, rice farmers from the remote Sudest Island receive the assistance.

The province has a rice tonnage target and Food Security Coordinator Skipa Christopher has been hard at work aligning farmers to meet production.

"This rice meal we are giving you not to stop you from production but to boost you. We want you to support you to continue to plant more, and produce more" Christopher said.

This machine can mill up to 200 kilograms per hour and Christopher says the target for Sudest where the mill is heading to is 2 tonnes of rice this year.

Milne Bay’s rice production target per the province’s Integrated Development Plan 2023 to 2027 has seen the Division of Agriculture & Livestock distribute more than 30 such rice mills for smallholder rice development in Milne Bay to farmer cooperatives and groups for far.

Christopher says the economic hard times felt across the country is impacting on average families and the call is to grow your own.

He says they are supplying three rice varieties for Milne Bay, their Seed Multiplication Center at Bubuleta the haven for this and other food security crops.

Areas from Sudest and Rossel to Suau, Maramatana, areas of Rabaraba, Goodenough, Kiriwina, Normanby and Fergusson are producing right now in Milne Bay.