DCM wants more Sarawak youths to take up farming

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(From left) Uggah and Lai jointly present the Excellent Academic Curriculum Award, comprising RM500 and a trophy, to Edmand Gani at the convocation. — Photo by Chimon Upon

KUCHING: Sarawak needs more young people to go into agriculture in order to sustain the industry, says Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas.

He observes that most farmers in rural areas across the state are aged 55 years and above.

“It is high time to cultivate interest in agriculture among young Sarawakians and they should also realise that agriculture is business.

“Even though most farmers in rural areas are 55 or 60, some of them are able to make a monthly income from RM30,000 to RM40,000.

“This proves that the agriculture industry has big potential in (enabling farmers to) earn better livelihood,” he said in launching the 12th convocation of the Agriculture Institute of Sarawak (IPS) at Jalan Semenggok near here yesterday.

At the same time, Uggah who is also Minister of Modernisation of Agriculture, Native Land and Regional Development, called upon the farmers in the state to adopt new technologies in managing their farms.

He pointed out that there is still room for the agriculture sector in Sarawak to undergo further modernisation given that the state has millions of hectares of land suitable for farming.

By using the latest technology, he said not only would the agriculture industry be transformed and commercialised, but it would eventually increase the export of food produce from the state as well.

According to him, Sarawak has been exporting bananas, pineapples and rambutans to Peninsular Malaysia and China.

He expressed his confidence that the state could keep such momentum if more young and skilled people were to venture into farming.

Uggah said he recently visited a 15-acre ‘midin’ (fern bud) farm in the state, which harvested 80kg of the fern a day – fetching a price of between RM13 and RM15 per kilogramme.

He said the farmer is innovative enough to vacuum-pack the jungle produce so that it could have a shelf life of seven days.

“If the farmer does not vacuum-pack, the ‘midin’ would turn black in just two days,” he said.

Thus, Uggah hoped that more Sarawakians, particularly the young ones, would be motivated and passionate in taking the state’s agriculture industry to a higher level.

Earlier, state Agriculture Department director Datu Lai Kui Fong said a total of 98 graduates were awarded with the ‘Agriculture Certificate’ upon completion of their two-year course.

Since 1987, he said, the IPS has produced 1,372 graduates, contributing to some 50 per cent of the skilled workforce needed for Malaysia to achieve its developed nation status by 2020.

Beginning this year, Lai said the institute would also be responsible for providing agriculture training at seven centres across the state – each in Temudok, Layar, Sungai Paoh, Jalan Oya, Sungai Sebiew, Karabungan and Kubong.

He added that about 2,000 farmers should benefit from this training.