Group seeks to address food security

THE golden mountain rice variety grown by Kinigitoga Resource Development Group has potential to address the food security problem, says group director Zamzai Haki Sinikupa.
“I stored golden mountain rice grains in two 44-gallon drums in 2009 and are still fresh to today,” Sinikupa said
“I used some of them as seeds and planted to harvest.”
Sinikupa said the rice variety was introduced by Chinese professor Lin Zamzen when he was in Eastern Highlands, doing rice and mushroom projects under Juncao Technology for the sister-province relationship between Eastern Highlands and China’s Fujian province.
“The rice grains last much longer than any other staple food like sweet potatoes, taro, yam and sago,” he said.
“It is a viable crop to sustain the livelihoods of people during drought.”
Sinikupa made this known during a rice field day he hosted at his Kinigitoga Resource Development Centre on Tuesday. Sinikupa encouraged villagers from Kinintugu, Korofeigu and Kapamariki villages to get golden mountain rice seeds from him and plant them to help for their own consumption and to sell.
“I will provide rice seeds to every family in the Lower Bena to promote rice growing and solve our food security issues,” he said.
Sinikupa showed how the seeds germinated over 24 hours before transplanting them into plots.