Gone are the days rice farmers in Macuata had to travel all the way to the Fiji Rice Limited Office in Labasa which took them an entire day’s journey, to simply pick up their cheques.
This comes after Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama commissioned the new Fiji Rice Limited Office building in Dreketi, Macuata.
Bainimarama says over the past few years, they have given rice farmers in Dreketi new trucks, tractors and an excavator and the new government-funded warehouse is also nearing completion.
He says they are dedicated to improving every part of farmers’ lives, and they know that for the farmers surrounding Dreketi, time and labour was not limited to the rice paddy.
Bainimarama says that Fiji Rice Limited also plans to upgrade its IT system in the near future, linking it directly with the Head Office in Labasa, which would place Fiji Rice Limited in a position to engage in real time data-entry for its stock.
Bainimarama adds this new office will ensure Fiji Rice is well-equipped to keeping its documents in order, and now they also have a proper board room for hosting meetings with stakeholders.
He says government is committed to bolstering Fiji’s domestic rice industry, and agro-economy as a whole, through targeted assistance to farmers all throughout Fiji.
Bainimarama says to get there, they need to tap into new innovations, and explore new ways of serving vital agricultural sector and hardworking rice farmers are no exception.
