BOBONARO, 05 november 2020 (TATOLI)— The Ministry of Agriculture and Fishery (MAF) have harvested rice for the second period in one-hectare of land at the Aidaba-Leten Village, Bobonaro District.
This activity has been led by the Minister of Agriculture and Fishery (MAF), Pedro Reis and the Coordinator Minister for the Economy, Joaquim Amaral and the Minister of Tourism Commerce and Industry (MTCI), José Lucas do Carmo da Silva.
Agriculture Minister Pedro Reis showed that he values the program of the “Practical Farmer” when addressing the ceremony today (05/11), adding that this program can bring improvements to the farmers.
“I am happy to see our farmers harvesting the rice for the second period at Atabae, I will continue to put in the effort to implement this program, which will support the increase in the local rice production,” Minister Reis said today.
At the same time, he requested that farmers in Atabae Village cooperate with the MAF throughout the program of “Practical Farmer” to ensure its success in the increase of production.
The Minister of the Coordinator for Economy, Joaquim Amaral, also encourages the farmers to work hard to increase the production.
“I am delighted to see the harvest today, I encourage the entire Atabae Farmers to cultivate more rice to increase the production within the country,” he said.
For this, he added that the Government would support the farmers through various forms.
Following the agricultural census of 2019, the report shows that 60% of families have been doing agriculture activities across and estimates property size of 219,250 hectares.
The reports published the statistical data and included first estimates from the June Agricultural Census. It shows the agriculture property areas in Bobonaro is more extensive than other regions in other municipalities, which is 41.000 hectares. In comparison, Emera district has 40.000 hectares, Baucau 25.000 hectares, while the Lautém only has 8.555 hectares, Manatuto hectares 3.371.
The result also shows within 141.738 hectares of agricultural property, there is 141.141 which belong to families, and 597 properties are private institutions.
Journalist: Natalino Costa
Editor: Julia Chatarina/Nick Kettle