Apply now for the Trukai Smart Farmer Program
The Smart Farmer Program is one of Trukai Industries’ extensive agriculture programs that aims to enhance the wellbeing of the people of PNG by supporting local rice farmers with skills and knowledge to empower their families and communities.
This program is a course in Irrigation Rice Farming and is facilitated through a private-public partnership with Trukai Industries’ Agriculture Department, the PNG University of Technology (Unitech) and the Pacific Adventist University (PAU). The program provides theory and practical assessment, building a strong knowledge base for farmers to be fully capable of transitioning from dry land farming to irrigation farming.
Trukai Industries CEO Alan Preston said the aim of the Smart Farmer Program was to train and develop local farmers to grow quality rice under irrigation conditions by 2027.
“Our vision for this program is to enhance and promote sustainable livelihood through a quality rice training program in PNG, and we are proud to have successfully accomplished several milestones already,” said Preston.
These milestones included signing a Memorandum of Agreement with the PNG University of Technology in October 2022 as a partner to carry out this program. As a result, 233 participants from 21 provinces attended the program in Lae. While in May 2023, Trukai Industries signed a MoA with PAU where 538 farmers were trained in Port Moresby. In 2024, a total of 253 participants graduated with a Certificate in Irrigated Rice Farming from these tertiary institutions.
Smart Farmer Program batch two participant, Noah Taugaloidi from Wamira village in Milne Bay Province, said the program was a catalyst for change as he and his people’s journey with rice started when Trukai Industries launched this program.
“Our staple food is taro, but the introduction of rice here has brought a lot of interest from our community, and others as well,” said Taugaloidi.
“The skills I learnt from this program can now be passed on to my people. The Smart Farmer Program presents opportunities for young people to participate in this kind of training,” he added.
Taugaloidi has rallied his community to be a part of the Smart Farmer Program with a number of his community members having graduated.
Trukai Industries’ Agriculture Manager Aina Davis encouraged farmers with limited education to tertiary education backgrounds to apply.
“The modules are easy for everyone to understand and obtain quality knowledge on rice cultivation under the irrigation method. There are four modules in the Smart Farmer Program with each having a practical component,” said Davis.
The Smart Farmer Program modules include Introduction to Rice; Rice Environments and Irrigation Farming; Rice Cultivation Cycle; and Rice Farming Business and Management.
Under the Smart Farmer Program, Trukai Industries expects to harvest 139, 800 tons of rice per annum, train 3,100 farmers, use 23,300 hectares of land to grow rice under irrigation conditions and have participating farmers from all 22 provinces attend the program by 2027.