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Grace Road Food Company Limited is now ready with its second harvest of a different variety of rice on its farm in Deuba.
The Korean-based company is currently testing four different Fijian rice varieties.
This is in order to identify which variety yields the most quantity of rice as well as finding out which variety is the most resistant to rice diseases and pests.
It will harvest the Fijian rice variety “Totoka” today with an expected yield of four to 4.5 tons per rice per acre.
Grace Road Food Company had its first rice harvest with the Fijian variety “Star,” and the yield was 4 tons per 1 acre.
As per data obtained by the company from the Ministry of Agriculture, the average rice yield in Fiji is around 1.5 to 2 tons per acre.
“Therefore Grace Road Food Company’s rice harvest, in comparison with the average yield in Fiji, was much higher,” the company said.
The company said it remained committed to full rice substitution in Fiji by 2020.
Present to witness the harvesting today will be government officials, biosecurity officers, provincial administrators, and native land owners.
The members of Ministry of Agriculture will also be attending the event on behalf of Minister of Agriculture who couldn’t attend the event as a result of his visitation to India.