S.I. farmers give a hand

Press, Volume CXV, Issue 33869, 14 June 1975, Page 13

S.I. farmers give a hand

Amon? 13 agricultural volunteers overseas this] year under the Volunteer Service Abroad scheme, nine are from the South Island. Eight are farmers, one of] whom has an agricultural degree, and the other is a] plant operator. Seven are in the Pacific, one in South] Korea, and one in Sabah. Al-] though all are involved in agriculture, their jobs are varied. The photograph shows Allan McManus, an Ashburton farmer, instructing a group of fifth formers from Chanel College, near Apia, on how to repair a fence. PIG FARMING MacManus, works with the pig unit at Chanel College. The development of pig fanning is important in many parts of the Pacific, as cattle or other stock are often too expensive for a small-scale farmer. Chris Burgin, of Rangiora, is working at the only V.S.A. project in South Korea, the Isodore Development Association. It has been set up by a group of i Irish priests on the island of Cheju Do. The scheme aims to im-1 prove agriculture in the area and train local farmers, i Cattle and pig farming are] carried out on a large scale] and Burgin has been most! involved with the cattle pro- ] ject. Ken Rutherford, a farmer] from Hawarden, in North] Canterbury, has been in Sabah since last September] developing a cattle multi-1

II plication farm. He is also ; testing grass types and . I working on animal husbandry trials for the Departement of Agriculture. Ken 11 Rutherford is the third ! V.S.A. worker to be at the ! farm — his two predecessors developed it from Jits original state. Two on Guadalcanal i Two South Islanders are i ] working on a project on •] Guadalcanal, British Solomon Islands. Dick Davison, i of Canterbury, is ip his second year and has set up a quarantine station. He has been joined this year by a . South Canterbury farmer. Rodney Pemberton. They are now working on the next stage, advising local farmers planning pasture and stocking schemes and training young men in animal husbandry. Three South Island farmers are ' accompanied by their wives, who are also volunteers. George Mcllwrick, a former Southland farmer, has now spent a year developing beef farming in the Sigatoka Valley with the Department of Agriculture in Fiji. He plans fencing and pasture . development and advises honks die Eight Burmese monks, trapped in their barred cells, idled today when a fire—beilieved to have been started J deliberately—swept through a Thai monastery in Bangkok. A petrol container land a cloth soaked in keroJsene were discovered nearby after the blaze, and a man | has been charged with arson, i—Bangkok. June 12.

local farmers. Joan Mcllwr-i ick works at the nearbyhigh school, handling accounts and administration. ] Bob Rickman, of Waimate,] works on the Navuso Agri-] cultural College farm, Fiji. J The Methodist Church runs; the college to develop agri- ] < cultural education. Margaret] Rickman, a trained nurse, j works at the Dilkusha Or-] phanage and the Methodist Leadership Training Scheme in nearby Nausori. “Veteran” Volunteer V.S.A.'s “veteran” in i Tonga is Wally Oakley, a re- : tired Canterbury farmer. He . is joined for his third year ] in Tonga by his wife, Rose.]* They live and work at]i

iHango Agricultural College I on the island of Eua. The College is run by the Wesleyan Church. Wally ] Oakley works mainly in the ■ workshop, maintaining tractors and other equipment and teaching basic mechanical techniques. He wife ] teaches and helps sell handicrafts made by local women. The only non-farmer involved with agriculture is Joe Campbell, a plant operator of Greymouth. A for-] mer army engineer, he main-] tains heavy agricultural ] machinery for the Brahman Agricultural Development project in Papua New Guinea. He also instructs in its use and maintenance.