Finschhafen displays locally cultivated rice after 96 years

THE people of Upper Mape in the Finschhafen District of Morobe Province, claim that they have never bought rice at the shops for the past 99 years, as rice was first introduced to them by the early Lutheran missionaries 100 years ago. They grow, eat and sell their home-grown rice, milled using traditional equipment known as “tong tong” while there is only one rice mill at a central location that everyone accesses. Government has changed power, but the Finschhafen rice production has barely been supported and remains hidden with the little people up in the hinterlands of the district.

The Morobe Show is a breakthrough for Finschhafen rice advocators Naomi and husband Henry Gioven, to bring the local rice to tell its story at the 61st Morobe Show. Mrs Gioven said they will celebrate 100 years of the Finschhafen rice in 2025 and that is the reason they brought the rice to the Morobe Show, to let the public know their story. “The Lutheran missionaries came to Finschhafen 200 years ago but the rice was introduced 100 years later as the Trukai rice species, but we have cross-bred and now we have six other different species grown and consumed by every household in the 14 villages of the upper Mape region.



” She said the main purpose of them bringing the rice to Morobe Show is to tell Papua New Guineans that they can grow their own rice and eat their own rice. “I am not lying, I want to tell everyone that you can grow your own rice.” Mr Gioven said the species they are growing is hard land rice and can be grown in solid ground.

He was a registrar at the University of Technology but for the sake of the little people in the village, he left her nicely paid job and joined his wife Naomi to advocate for rice production to their local people using their own resources for a decade. “The Government’s SME process is a lie, our efforts to support our people were not considered even when we wrote proposals for funding, and we don’t care about Government support anymore, it’s a waste of time,” he said. Mr Gioven said they have brought 10 50 kg bags to the show at an expense of almost K3000 just to tell their story and encourage rice farming in PNG.

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