China gives $1.6m for new agro-projects [1]
Tuesday, February 1, 2011 - 16:35. Updated on Saturday, May 10, 2014 - 14:26.
Kumala noodles, duck raising, mushrooms-growing and methane-generating pits are projects that Tonga will see under a new TOP$1.6m China technical grant.
The launching of an Agricultural Demo Farm Project for Tonga on January 28 was marked with the signing of a $TOP1.6m grant agreement by the Chinese Ambassador to Tonga HE Wang Donghua, and Tonga's Prime Minister Lord Tu'ivakano.
The two-year project will run from January 2011 to December 2012, when a team of five agro-technicians and one interpreter will come to Tonga from China to display the technologies of large scale mushroom cultivation, duck raising, sweet potato powder primary processing, and they will also provide technical assistance to build 10 sets of methane-generating pits with affiliated facilities.
Lord Tu'ivakano said this project marked another significant landmark in keeping closer ties between the Government of Tonga and China.
Dr Viliami Manu the Deputy CEO of the Ministry of Agriculture said that the agreement that the Ambassador and the Prime Minister had signed was for phase two of a project that was initiated by the Chinese last year. A second group of agro-technicians would implement Phase Two of the project in Tongatapu, the first group would move and implement Phase One of the project in Vava'u.
Viliami was optimistic that under the Second Phase of the project in Tongatapu, they will be able to make noodles from Kumala powder.