The Agricultural Economy of Fiji (Classic Reprint)

Download or read book The Agricultural Economy of Fiji (Classic Reprint) written by James K. Freckmann and published by Forgotten Books. This book was released on 2018-01-12 with total page 34 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Excerpt from The Agricultural Economy of Fiji The control of education is in the hands of a Board of Education appoint ed by the governor. The major educational problem has been the provision of schools, and an adequate supply of trained teachers to satisfy the needs of the rapidly increasing population. To alleviate this situation, the govern ment established a Teacher's Training College in 1947 to replace several small denominational colleges which were formerly the only sources of supply of trained teachers. It also has undertaken a school building program. Research.-little progress has been made during the past few years to ward the diversification of Fiji's agriculture, except in the establishment of a cocoa industry. Bean samples from some of the original cocoa trees planted were pronounced acceptable, but somewhat mild by Australian chocolate manufacturers. As a result, seeds of a very strong West African variety have been introduced into the Colony. Continued efforts by the Fijian Government in conjunction with the South Pacific Commission are being made in their fight to eradicate the rhinoceros beetle. It is because of this insect that Fiji's coconut industry is threat ened with extinction. Currently, several parasites are looked Upon as answers to the problem. Experimental cultivation of tobacco and coffee is being carried on with satisfactory results. No progress has been made toward the reintroduction of the former pineapple, tea, or cotton industries, but varietal and nutritional studies, pure seed production, investigations of diseases, and weed and pest controls are being conducted. The Department of Agriculture is also promoting the livestock industry by experimenting with the improvement of pastures, and by the distribution of grass and legume seeds. It also maintains animals for breeding purposes at the research stations. The Colonial Sugar Refining Company maintains several experimental sta tions where imported sugarcanes are tested and new ones developed by cross breeding to resist disease. Today, as a result Of research, nearly half of the Fiji crop is Badila cane-a variety that originated in New Guinea. A campaign to control pests and disease of sugarcane is also carried out by the Company. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.