Gazelle farmers into rice to prepare for drought

By EVAH KUAMIN
EAST New Britain has taken measures to ensure that people in the province are prepared for the looming 2011 drought.
Consistent encouragement on rice cultivation in the province had been said to be the way forward in food security means for the expected drought in the New Year.
The ongoing awareness conducted by the National Agricultural Research Institute (NARI) in the New Guinea Islands region with major stakeholders in the province has targeted potential areas that could experience severe shortage of food and water during the drought.
Deputy provincial administrator of coordination and implementation Pennie Maroro revealed that the rice intervention programme in the Gazelle District had picked up well since 2004.
He added that this had been due to the working cooperation with the International Organisation for Scientific Culture and Agriculture (OISCA) which empowered farmers and households to produce enough rice for local consumption.
Maroro commended the NBC Gavaman Tokbek programme that had been broadcasting tips to people in the province on preparing for the drought.
He added that the information had reached the people and they needed to begin planting drought resistant food crops.
Maroro said rice, apart from African yams and sago, were proper sources of food security, according to OISCA.