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GET PLANTING - 17-Sep-2008
Fiji’s Agrarian Revolution is underway.
That is the unmistakable message from Fiji’s China cassava-ethanol fact-finding team from the Ministry of Agriculture, and Fiji’s tireless Ambassador to China, Sir James Ah Koy.
“If you are a cassava farmer, think about planting now,” said the Koronivia-based Ministry of Agriculture cassava-ethanol expert, Viliame Yabakiwai.
“The cassava-ethanol industry is on its way - that’s a certainty,” added team member and Department of Energy director, Vili Vosarogo.
Judging by the outcomes predicted by these men after their recent visit to China, it will be a revolution in Fiji’s approach to agriculture that will be every bit as challenging and transforming as the Agrarian Revolution that gripped England and Europe two hundred years ago.
“In one year from now – all things being equal - there will be a demand at the rate of 1000 tonnes of cassava a day to supply Fiji’s first cassava-ethanol plant,” said Ministry of Agriculture Permanent Secretary, Dr Richard Beyer.
“Some 18,000 hectares of cassava fields will be initially needed to produce sufficient cassava at that level of demand,” he added.
“Fiji will never be the same,” Yabakiwai said.
“The farmers who are engaged to take part in this paradigm-shift will never look back,” he added.
Vosarogo said the economy would profit by it and ecologically speaking, our national carbon footprint would shrink.
“Motorists filling their vehicles will be able to count on ten-percent of their fuel coming from cassava-ethanol,” he said.
‘The Agrarian Revolution was founded on the innovations in farming technology (remember Jethro Tull’s ‘seed-drill’), in systematic planting methods (‘Turnip” Townshend’s ‘crop rotation’ method), and in animal breeding (on Bakewell’s ‘scientific breeding’) - so too, the cassava-ethanol revolution will see the introduction of new cassava science, a new cassava mass-planting system, and a new cassava-led solution to our energy crisis’, Sir James said.
“The future has arrived and it is all green: green fields, green savings and ‘greenbacks’ - that’s what is promised in our cassava-ethanol revolution,” he added.
When told that many found the cassava-ethanol project sounded too good to be true, an emphatic Sir James smiled, “But they better believe it!”
“This is will be the greatest agricultural boon for Fiji,” he added.
“There will be no turning back – we are bringing to Fiji an industry to rescue us from the oil apocalypse of the 21st century,” Sir James said.
Ministry of Agriculture officials are equally enthused and heartily endorsed the planned introduction of cassava-ethanol.
Dr Beyer said it was exciting.
“It’s not a dream, it’s not too good to be true, but there is a lot of preparatory work to be done.”
“There are a few nettles that need to be grasped in order to make a success of this,” he cautioned, - referring to the multi-dimensional changes and initiatives required in agronomic, commercial, legal, cultural, scientific and economic terms.
“New structures always need careful consideration in order for their proper establishment, but someone has to try this here and we will, and we will succeed,” Dr Beyer said.
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