Fifteen farmers of Sabeto, Nadi have become the pioneering group of the recently introduced Contractual Farming initiative of the Agricultural Marketing Authority.
These farmers yesterday signed contractual agreements with the AMA to provide them with the quantity of the required produce, and the intervals at which the produce would be required at.
As part of the contract agreement, a determined pricing range that will be paid to the farmers along with the AMA's and farmers obligations are also stipulated in it.
Minister for Agriculture Dr. Mahendra Reddy said it was a historic day as farmers would now be contracted, therefore treating farming as a business, the first step towards making agriculture a billion dollar export industry.
Dr. Reddy also invited investors to consider agriculture as a viable business opportunity adding there is no better time to invest in agriculture than now.
The Minister says if there is anything good that has come out of COVID–19, it has renewed our interest in agriculture, mobilized the entire country to get into agriculture, re-energized everyone that this is where the money is and that this is the future of this country.
Meanwhile, speaking on behalf of the Sabeto farmers, Sunil Prasad thanked the Ministry of Agriculture and the Agricultural Marketing Authority for their support in getting farmers to be a part of the contractual farming initiative.
