By Ashley Sim
KUCHING, June 10: Sarawak is advancing plans to establish a comprehensive and integrated agriculture supply chain, covering every stage from land preparation and cultivation to processing, market access, and export, in a bid to strengthen the State’s food security and reduce its reliance on imported rice.
Sarawak Minister for Food Industry, Commodity, and Regional Development Dato Sri Dr Stephen Rundi Utom said a fragmented approach will no longer suffice and called for a holistic transformation of the agriculture sector, with a focus on modernisation, mechanisation, and full supply chain connectivity.
“Agriculture cannot be done in silos. We need a complete system, from research and upstream production to market access and export,” he said during a press conference following his working visit to the GS30 hybrid paddy trial site at the Tanjung Purun Paddy Planting Scheme in Lundu today.
Dr Rundi said that while current paddy operations are still largely manual, the State is moving toward full mechanisation, covering operations such as ploughing, transplanting, fertilising, pesticide spraying, and harvesting, followed by drying and milling.
“To make this work, we need proper infrastructure. That includes a complete irrigation system—primary, secondary, and tertiary—and the ability to control water flow in and out of the fields.
“We also need to prepare the land with a hardpan so that machinery doesn’t sink,” he explained.
He emphasised that beyond producing rice for consumption, surplus yields must be channelled into downstream opportunities such as the production of biscuits and confectionery, which would generate higher value and support economic diversification.
“Rice is consumed daily. If we produce more than we need, we can move into downstream production,” he said.
Highlighting Sarawak’s current dependence on rice imports from countries such as Vietnam and India, Dr Rundi cautioned that future export restrictions by these nations could put Sarawak’s food supply at risk.
“What worries us is the possibility that these countries may one day stop exporting rice. That’s when our food security will be truly tested,” he said.
He added that the success of this comprehensive model will depend not only on government support and infrastructure but also on empowering farmers through structured systems like anchor-driven contract farming.
“This driver we call the ‘anchor’. The anchor teaches the right methods and acts as an off-taker linked to the market. That’s how contract farming becomes viable,” he said.
The GS30 hybrid paddy variety, currently being trialled at the 187-hectare site in Tanjung Purun by Baja Engineering Sdn Bhd, has already demonstrated its potential, with standout plots yielding 12 to 14 metric tonnes per hectare—nearly double that of traditional methods.
Dr Rundi said such promising results underscore the urgency of developing a sustainable ecosystem around high-yield crops to ensure long-term resilience in Sarawak’s food and agriculture sector. — DayakDaily
