YOU MEAN THIS BIG?: Misnu (left) expressing a point while looking at a dabai seedlings on display during his visit yesterday.
KUCHING: Sarawak ‘dabai’, scientifically known as ‘Carnarium Odontophyllum Miq’, is an exclusive intellectual property of the state and has great commercial potential.
State Agriculture Department director Lai Kui Fong yesterday revealed that a Certificate of Rights dated Aug 15, 2011, was issued by Intellectual Property Corporation of Malaysia to the state in the name of Sarawak Information Technology and Resources Council (SITRC).
As such, he said, no other countries or states could produce and market dabai, whether in the form of fresh fruits, frozen, or value added products without the approval of SITRC.
Earlier, in his welcoming speech in conjunction with the working visit of Acting State Secretary Datu Misnu Taha to the Agriculture Research Centre (ARC) in Semongok near here yesterday, Lai said that efforts to patent dabai was vital in view of its great commercial potential.
He said following intensive research on dabai since 2005, the agriculture department recorded tremendous findings.
Among others, researchers found that a certain cold storage technology could maintain the quality of dabai fruit for at least one year. They also discovered that dabai contains high anti-oxidant, which is good for health as reported by a joint study with Universiti Putra Malaysia.
Lai added that their research on dabai got a further boost when it was selected as one of their key focus activities (KFA) project this year.
“Many dabai related products have been developed by our Research Division in smart partnership with various stakeholders, especially the private sector.
“This smart partnership project that was initiated this year aimed to evaluate a system to commercialise agriculture research findings on the dabai supply chain.”
He added that through such efforts, three private nurseries had been engaged to commercially produce the recommended clones (Laja and Lulong) and three growers had been selected to plant these clones to supply high quality fruit.
“At the same time, one processor has been engaged to process value-added products such as dabai paste and mayonnaise. At this stage, there are two manufacturers of dabai soap products and one manufacturer of dabai cake products.
“In all the cases, our research division provides the technical support such as cold storage technology, product recipes and shelf life studies on the products and their nutritional values.”
Lai also revealed that in addition one wholesaler of dabai products, a hotel, two supermarkets and a retail outlet for dabai soap had been enlisted on the marketing end of the supply chain.
He explained that to move the industry forward, they would try to create greater awareness among consumers and investors on the goodness and commercial potential of dabai products.
“Dabai is an increasingly popular indigenous fruit in Sarawak that has great potential for commercialization. This is the opportunity that is still very wide open for people to tap.”