BY TONY IROGA
Future for commercial rice farming looks brighter with a 320-hectare project launched yesterday at the Guadalcanal plains, east Guadalcanal.
The South Pacific Economy and Technology Development Co Ltd (SPETD) currently owns a rice project, the biggest in the Solomon Islands at 175 hectares, which sits just outside the GPPOL palm trees, towards the sea.
A chupu ceremony with landowning groups yesterday opened the way to kick-start a second rice project, and together, SPETD’s two rice farms cover a total area of 495 hectares.
SPETD is anticipates the planting of rice seedlings in two months’ time, after the clearing and nursery stages.
Established early last year, SPETD began trial farming in another smaller plot in GPPOL which successfully resulted in the harvest and processing of fresh rice that is ready to hit the local market.
Prior scientific tests allowed SPETD to bring in rice species and fertilisers which suited the soil type in the GPPOL plains.
SPETD’s aim is for Solomon Islanders to access fresh rice at very affordable prices, which, once operations run smoothly, can be achieved in a couple of months.
Currently, the prices of rice in Solomon Islands are becoming too expensive, and SPETD’s project aims to reverse this.
The company also has plans to venture into sharing their expertise in rice farming to interested local farmers.
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