Agriculture and Food security

The Agricultural Hub and rice mill have been a long-term plan of HWC. Food security is a key issue in achieving Women's Empowerment and a major concern in Haku owing to the rapidly increasing population, limited land for growing food, soil depletion resulting from traditional farming methods  and the impacts of climate change. ​With this in mind, in 2019 HWC:

• established its Agriculture Hub, including a rice mill;
• established the Backyard Farming project, with 100 graduates from the initial training course; and
• organised the inaugural Hako Agricultural Show.

Click here for the reports on the projects.

Growing and milling rice 

Rice is a very useful crop in Bougainville, as it produces up to three harvests a year in this climate, produces more food per square metre than traditional crops, and can be stored. The new Agriculture Hub holds a rice mill where local people can mill their home-grown rice for a small fee.

Opening of the Agriculture Hub

 HWC in collaboration with PiCCA were awarded a ‘Community Friendship Grant’ from the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) to establish the Agriculture Hub.  DFAT contributed $A35,000; PiCCA contributed $A2,300 in cash (from donations) and $A4,700 of in-kind support to the project.