Trukai Industries says it is committed to supporting the development of the smallholder rice industry in Papua New Guinea.
The company recently entered into understandings with provincial governments, farmers and leaseholders where pilot projects have been developed in the Central and West New Britain provinces.
The company is also expanding similar support to growers in Oro where a Rice Development and Purchase Agreement (RDPA) was signed on Monday at its Lae head office.
The RDPA is essentially a non-binding agreement between the growers and Trukai Industries with supplementary support from the Oro Provincial Government.
The agreement outlines the support Trukai will provide in training, seeds, rice innovations, quality standards and information to enable rice farmers in the province to grow rice that meets processing standards.
The company is also committed to sourcing local raw rice as part of its processing plan.
In a statement, Trukai Industries says it is confident with the Oro rice farmers considering they have been growing rice over the last 15 years for consumption in small plots.
This agreement hopes to encourage local growers to increase rice production and supply most of it to Trukai Industries, to be blended into its rice products.