The Navuso Agriculture Technical Institute received a huge boost as they received an irrigation kit provided by the Ministry of Agriculture and Waterways through its Irrigation Kit program.
The Irrigation Kit consisted of a 10HP water pump, two 10,200 litre water tanks, a suction pipe, a discharge pipe, a valve and small implements.
While handing over the kit, Director for Waterways Marau Vuli acknowledged the tremendous work carried out at the institute and hoped that the assistance would impact the farming programme that is being run within their curriculum.
He says the Navuso Agriculture Technical Institute is the only institute in Fiji that is preparing future farmers of the country, and the assistance will assist them to look at farming from a different perspective.
Vuli says that new technologies are being introduced to enhance farming, and with the changing climatic conditions that we are facing, the students will be able to re-introduce this concept when they conclude their 3-year term at Navuso.
Navuso Agriculture Technical Institute Principal Uraia Waibuta thanked the Ministry for the timely assistance and said the assistance is welcomed at the school as they are about to start their plastic in-house farming of assorted vegetables, and these new kit will be used to moisten their vegetable plastic house during the dry season.
Waibutasays the irrigation kit will also be used to transfer water from the river for their vegetable farms and will truly empower the students to grasp all the knowledge on technologies that can be applied to their own farms when they complete their studies here at the institute.
He says the irrigation kit will also enhance students' learning of climate-smart agriculture, which is the way forward now.
