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By Lian Cheng
KUCHING, July 6: The Food Industry, Commodity and Regional Development Ministry which is experimenting with large scale animal feed production estimates that Sarawak will be able to produce 600,000 metric tonnes (mt) annually, which will meet 20 per cent of Sarawak’s demand.
Its minister Dato Sri Dr Stephen Rundi said Sarawak’s production of animal feed which is based on byproducts from five palm oil mills and black soldier flies, is currently used on ruminants and later, would be extended to poultry.
Dr Rundi said should the current experiment be successful, with the availability of 85 palm oil mills in Sarawak, he believed Sarawak will have more than what it needs in terms of producing animal feed.
“If that (the experiment) is of help to us, then we have in Sarawak 85 mills, and I will create a policy that all these waste can be of use, to be converted into animal feed.
“If we can do that, we have more than 100 per cent (self-subsistent on animal feed).Enough. So I am quite positive that we are able to stabilise the price of animal feed,” said Dr Rundi when inspecting the progress of the State Farmers’ Organisation Sarawak (PPNS) Complex at Asiajaya, Samarahan yesterday.
He said this initiative is necessary to stabilise animal feed prices as raw material such as green corn from Brazil and Argentina have become costly, which inevitably leads to animal feed price hikes.
Meanwhile, Dr Rundi also brought up the issue of expensive fertiliser which is also affecting farmers.
The issue, he said, is because the raw material used to make fertiliser from the United Kingdom is no longer available and his Mlministry needs to source for new supply, either from Canada or Christmas Island.
“I am going to visit Canada to see their potassium salt (potash) mines, (which is) a few km down (underground), and to sit down with the chairman to reduce the price,” said Dr Rundi, adding that the price of potash has tripled. — DayakDaily
