LOCAL rice farmers will gain knowledge on production of manual rice milling machine, solar grain drier and peanut shelling machine after the completion of the Farm Mechanization Training (FMT) that currently underway in Honiara.
FMT is jointly funded by the European Union and Solomon Islands government of Solomon Islands project on enhancing productivity of land and labour through small scale mechanization for subsistence farmers in Papua New Guinea (PNG) and Solomon Islands.
Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Jimmy Saelea said, “this training workshop module therefore is to equip rice farmers and other technical staff to appreciate the development and adoption of small-scale low cost and energy efficient machinery for use by subsistence farmers in PNG and Solomon Islands.
“I encourage all trainees to gain as much knowledge as possible from the training.
“You are the few lucky ones to be given the opportunity to be the first for this subject matter training,” he said.
Saelea said that processing, preservation and quality improvement of agricultural crops for the benefit of local population will always be assured of any government of the day’s support, including the current DCC government which recognizes and is committed to encouraging and supporting rural development.
The training will involve production of manual rice milling machine and training on how to use the solar grain drier and peanut shelling machine.
By STEPHEN DIISANGO