Jack Kalogo a village farmer from Hula in the Central Province was a participant of the Smart Farmer
Program held in June at the Pacific Adventist University in Port Moresby.
Kalogo first learnt about the program when his wife attended the three days Central Music Festival in
Kwikila in May, where she visited Trukai’s Agriculture stall and collected a Smart Farmer registration
form.
“My wife showed me the registration form and I got excited because this was something that I had been looking for,” said Kalogo.
With the closing date for the Smart Farmer applications nearing, Kalogo had to move fast to gather all
required documents. He described his process of meeting the deadline as difficult but he managed to
get all his required documents to submit his application.
“The music festival ended on the 26th of May and deadline for applications was on the 31st, my wife
came back two days after the show and gave me the application form. I had to rush to get my medical checks at Hula, than make my way to Port Moresby to find the Trukai office to drop off the application form,” Kalogo explained.
Kalogo has been growing bananas and yam on his land for many years, however this program was a
different learning practice for the experienced farmer, where he was taught different farming
techniques and ways to grow rice.
Jack said the Smart Farmer Program has given him an insight to modify his farming practice in the
village.
“As a village farmer, attending this smart farmer program, I have learnt new ideas, especially with
growing rice, which has helped me build on my farming experience,” Kalogo said.
This new information will elevate agriculture and rice farming in Jacks village, building a strong
knowledge base for farmers to be fully capable of transitioning from dry farming to irrigation farming.
There are four training modules within the Smart Farmer Program that are tailored to suit participants
of the program. These include Module 1 Introduction to Rice, Module 2 Rice Environments and
Irrigation Farming, Module 3 Rice Cultivation Cycle and Module 4 Rice Farming Business &
Management.
Module 3, Rice Cultivation Cycle was an interesting unit for Kalogo as he explained that it had broadened his knowledge on the importance of creating proper nurseries to do direct planting, in order to harvest rice in the appropriate way.
“I really want to be a model farmer and go through the program successfully and be equipped with this knowledge to share with my family and the community in terms of rice farming,” Kalogo said.
Kalogo has six hectors of land and has developed a small portion to grow bananas and yam. But through the Smart Farmer Program, he has planned for him and his family to fully utilize their land to grow rice.
The Smart Farmer Program has inspired many farmers to begin irrigation rice farming, for Kalogo, this
has created a new opportunity for him and his family to grow and sell rice. He says this has always been a dream and is glad to have gone through the program.
“I have always wanted to make use of my land, thank you to Trukai and the Smart Farmer Program, I am able to fulfill this vision as the program has better equipped me to do this,” Kalogo said.
In June and July, 97 participants attended the fourth batch of the Smart Farmer Program held in Lae
Unitech and 101 farmers were part of the 2nd Batch at PAU in Port Moresby.
Trukai Industries’ partnerships with both the University of Technology and the Pacific Adventist
University will enable participants of the Smart Farmer Program to share and access classrooms,
research laboratories, and farm or field facilities.
