Mussen (second right) and Rubiah (first left) listen to a briefing at one of the exhibition booths. – Photo by Roystein Emmor
KOTA SAMARAHAN (July 14): The application of modern technology can attract more youths in Sarawak to look at agriculture as a form of business, said Deputy Minister of International Trade, Industry and Investment Datuk Dr Malcolm Mussen Lamoh.
Having just returned from a study trip in Singapore, he observed that the island state is able to optimise agricultural produce using technologies despite having limited space and land for farming.
The trip by a high-level delegation from the Sarawak government last week was led by Premier of Sarawak Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg.
“Despite the lack of land, yet they manage to attract youths to participate in agriculture. This involved advanced technologies such as IoT, smart farming and vertical farming. The space is limited for farming, yet they managed to optimise it through modern technology,” he said at the opening of Samarahan-level Jom Regista Bisnes at Dewan IADA Samarahan yesterday.
He was representing Deputy Premier Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan at the event.
He was happy to note institutions like Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas) are introducing new technologies to attract the younger generation.
“We need to pay attention to the interest from the young people who want to venture into agriculture as a business. Because maybe with technology, they will be interested to take part,” he added.
Mussen, who recently received a doctorate in an agricultural related field from Unimas, also revealed that he can offer free consultancy to develop agriculture in Samarahan.
He noted the interest shown when he and Kota Samarahan MP Datuk Rubiah Wang visited the exhibition booths earlier.
The deputy minister said he had been involved in agriculture for 25 years before being involved in politics.