Trukai Industries recently donated a Village Sustainability Kit (VSK) to a farmer in Tubuserea under its Small Holder Rice Development Program.
Dickson Oroni from Noutubuwa clan in Tubuserea had been a farmer for 20 years before Trukai came on board to support him with a startup kit to expand his rice farm.
He was humbled by the support that Trukai had given to assist with his farming which he planned to cultivate more land and recruit members of his community.
“I would like to thank Trukai for supplying me with this kit which I will share with my entire community and other local farmers where we can engage unemployed youths to work with us,” said Oroni.
Oroni’s technical knowledge and with his understanding of modern technology used in the farming industry was one of the reasons why Trukai decided to support him.
Gathered at the small ceremony were Tubuserea Village leaders and members of their community.
Trukai’s Rice Development Manager Aina Davis urged the villages to work in partnership with Trukai and the government to set up local rice farms that will contribute to establish local rice production in PNG.
“Indeed rice is a staple food for Papua New Guineans but it is not a staple crop, that is why Trukai has been doing a lot of work to promote local rice production,” said Davis.
Trukai has distributed VSKs to genuine irrigation farmers since 2011 under its various rice development programs.
Through its Small Holder Rice Development Program, Trukai offers support in terms of the Village Sustainability Kit, technical expertise and paddy market access.
The VSK is supplied to genuine irrigation farmers and include a solar rice mill, a power tiller, manual seeders, a knapsack, sickles and rice seedlings.
The technical expertise consists of formal and informal trainings, field demonstrations and training materials.
Through the paddy market access support, Trukai will purchase surplus quality paddy from the farmers.
The vision of this farming program by Trukai Industries is to support food security by maximizing local rice production in PNG.