Uggah (third right) together with Lo (from fifth right), Henry and Miro in a photo-call while planting MD2 pineapples after the ceremony. – Photo by Roystein Emmor
KUCHING (Aug 15): The farming community in the state should strive to produce high-quality agriculture products in order to penetrate international markets, said Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas.
Uggah, who is also Minister of Modernisation of Agriculture, Native Land and Regional Development, said that the state government had enlisted the help of experts to assist farmers, especially those in the interior, to produce quality agricultural products that were desired by the international market.
“We are not just competing with the markets in Tasik Biru, Kuching or Betong, We are competing our agriculture products with those from Thailand, Taiwan, Indonesia and Vietnam.
“So, we must uplift our agriculture sector and position ourselves to compete at the international level,” he said when officiating a ‘Community Extension Outreach Programme’ at Kampung Kopit’s multipurpose hall, Bau here today.
He pointed out that Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg had earmarked the objective for the state to be a net exporter of food products by 2030 but so far, the state was still a net importer with an annual value of about RM4 billion.
“It’s a big challenge (to be net exporter) but I can see the people here are very enthusiastic. We have a lot of land in the state and these land can be converted into production units to make the agricultural business more competitive and viable,” he said, adding that the agricultural department had been roped in to provide the required technologies and new varieties of agriculture seeds.
Besides, Uggah said another RM1 million would be allocated by his ministry under the Agriculture Facilitation Fund (AFF) to the Serembu constituency to better assist farmers in rural areas in improving their produce.
He also added Local Farmers’ Organisations (PPK) would need to be re-aligned to support the state government’s objective of being a net food exporter and help farmers in lowering their operation costs while increasing productivity.
Moreover, Uggah said that the state government had set aside venture capital totalling RM100 million to enable farmers to access financing in achieving greater scale for their farms.
Meanwhile, Serembu assemblyman Miro Simuh urged farmers in his constituency to grab hold of the opportunities offered by the state government in enhancing the state agriculture industry via financial, expertise and machinery assistance.
He remarked some of the main agricultural products planted in his constituency were MD2 pineapples, baby corn and Betong ginger.
Miro also opined the state, with its population of about 3 million, should reduce its dependency on imported food products, due to food safety and security concerns, and industrial farming needed to be greater promoted in the community.
“Sarawak is the largest state in the country while having only a population of about 3 million yet we still import a lot from outside. This is quite concerning if we talk about food safety and food security”, he said.
Providing an example, Uggah in his speech said the self-sufficiency level of beef products in the state was only at about 10 per cent.
Among those in attendance during the ceremony were Tasik Biru assemblyman Dato Henry Harry Jinep and Batu Kitang assemblyman Lo Khere Chiang.