A warehouse, an office and a drying facility, will be ready by next year, in a move to further local rice production.

“The revelation follows Fiji Rice Limited’s call for suitable land – either for lease or sale near Labasa Town – that will be home to its paddy collection centre,” Fiji Rice said.

• 2000 tonnes of rice by next year from 750 tonnes this year.
• Over 400 farmers across the country.
• $500,000 development.

“An allocation of $500,000 has been set aside for the development, which when ready, will serve farmers within the greater Labasa and Wainikoro areas,” chairman Raj Sharma said.

Vanua Levu is home to the largest volume of rice production in the country, where annual production volumes are as much as 750 tonnes annually.

The new collection centre will cater for an increase to 2000 tonnes in rice production next year. Fiji Rice Limited has a similar collection centre, midway between Lautoka and Ba, in its stride to expand rice farming between Rakiraki and Nadi.

There are over 400 rice farmers around the country, most of whom also serve as cane farmers; 250 of them are in Vanua Levu.

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