Plans to develop rice industry

By PETER ESILA
IT is about time a rice board is established like other commodity boards to develop the sector, says an official.
Department of Agriculture and Livestock rice extension unit programme manager Heai Hoko said rice was now just a programme or an activity in the department.
“Cocoa, coffee, spice, rubber and oil palm are an industry now,” Hoko told The National.
“We have people out there already involve with rice such as plantations, smallholders, buyers, processors and even exporters. So many of our people are involved in it. Setting up a rice industry board, agency or whatever the name would be later on, can help us to mobolise ourselves,” Hoko said.
“Government can recognise us and provide the appropriate funding.
“We can move rice in the country, we can partner with provinces or businesses, farmer groups or cooperatives societies, companies wants to do rice, we can come in.” Hoko said the strategy was about creating smallholder and large-scale mechanised rice farming.
“My thought is that we would like to approach rice in two approaches – smallholder and broad large-scale mechanised farming system which is lacking,” he said.
“Only people in the Markham valley (in Morobe) and elsewhere are doing broader large scale, mechanised farming.”
Hoko said PNG spent on average K400 million to K500 million each year to import 400,000 tonnes per year of rice depending on the demand.