A chairman of a provincial council in the North says the interim Government should provide proper machinery to cassava farmers earmarked for the production of ethanol.
Bua Provincial Council chairman Ratu Filimone Ralogaivau said if cassava were to be used for commercial purposes, it was only proper for the interim regime to provide farming machinery.
"Farmers definitely cannot be using digging forks and cane knives to prepare their farms and uproot the crops because it would cause delays," he said.
"The best thing to do is for the regime to provide proper machinery that farmers can hire and use to farm cassava because it will speed the work rate."
Ratu Filimone said with the quick farming process involved through proper use of machinery, farmers would be able to always meet market demands.
"That is another advantage of having proper machinery for farmers to use because work done in a day might take two hours and that helps the whole industry," he said.
Ratu Filimone said Bua villagers welcomed the move by the regime in signing a memorandum of understanding with the Chinese Government to produce ethanol from cassava.
"I was in Bua last week and the villagers are all happy about the idea," Ratu Filimone said.
"But it's not easy to clean a piece of land, dig cassava and uproot the crop as it involves a lot of time and hard work from an individual," he said.
Last week, the province of Macuata said any involvement in the new industry would have to await confirmed arrangements in marketing cassava.
Tui Macuata Ratu Aisea Katonivere said the idea of using cassava to produce ethanol was a good move by the interim regime but it was equally important to have markets for the farmers.
"I welcome the move and it's a great initiative of the interim regime but it's important that the farmers have the market available always," Ratu Aisea said.
"We are waiting for a feedback from the ministry responsible for the proposed plan to use cassava to produce ethanol before we can discuss the issue in a provincial meeting."
