A government official says Solomon Islands' efforts to improve crop production are being frustrated by land disputes in some areas.
The government has approved just over three million US dollars to be used before the end of the year for rice programmes in the rural areas.
But the undersecretary for the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, Alfred Maesulia, says communities which have been organised to start the programmes can't move ahead because of land disputes.
"In some instances we have problem with land especially when we try to establish commercial rice in areas where we think its productive, we have yet to settle some of these problems so these rice programmes can go ahead."
Farming and land policy reform was high on the agenda at the just ended meeting of the Pacific Ministers for Agriculture and Forestry in Samoa.
