Uggah (middle) along with his team visiting a farm at Bogor, West Java, Indonesia to understand the work flow of farming.
BOGOR, Indonesia: The Ministry of Modernisation of Agriculture and Rural Economy is helping farmers in Sarawak to establish a complete supply chain management system for their production and marketing of their produce by providing the necessary facilities.
Minister Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas believed the system is important to enable farmers in the state to increase their income and raise their standard of living.
Uggah, who is also Deputy Chief Ministerm stressed that the system is the catalytic factor that will help farmers in the lower income group to get out of the poverty circle in the future.
Besides, he noted that the system is effective and is being practiced and applied by some industry players around in the world.
“It is very important for farmers to develop a complete supply chain along their production and marketing of produce. It will assist them to generate better income and help them to live a better life.
“Farmers especially in Sarawak need to re-think about the whole process of farming in the new era of globalisation.
“From planting the seed to harvesting the crops and subsequently marketing the produce to the end-user or consumers, modern farmers need to understand the entire supply chain which could benefit them in the long run.
“Besides, they also need to do market analysis, provide better packaging to market their products and form a good network and distribution channel,” he told The Borneo Post after visiting a farm at Bogor, West Java, Indonesia to understand the work flow of farming earlier this week.
Uggah observed that the farming was carried out by the Institute Pertanian Bogor in collaboration with Taiwan’s International Cooperation and Development Fund (ICDF).
Among those accompanying Uggah were State Planning Unit director Datu Mohamad Abu Bakar Marzuki, Sarawak Chamber of Commerce and Industry member specialising in logistics Nobel Pang and several government officials from Sarawak.
In the meantime, Uggah’s visit to the farm was on the invitation of Indonesian Consul General in Kuching Jahar Gultom to discuss areas of cooperation between his ministry and the Indonesian Ministry of Agriculture.
Additionally, his visit to the farm was part of his working visit to Indonesia to attend the 31st Trade Expo Indonesia held at Jakarta International Expo hall from Oct 11 to Oct 14.
Overall, Uggah said he was impressed with the supply chain management system and hoped that Sarawakian farmers can develop the model to become successful farmers in the future.
He also believed that the method can contribute to the development of the agriculture sector in Sarawak and in turn spur the growth of the state’s economic growth.