by DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, March 22: Sarawak is exploring more opportunities to enhance and develop the cattle industry here by leveraging on Brazil’s expertise in its livestock farming system.
A delegation from Sarawak, led by Sarawak Minister of Food Industry, Commodity and Regional Development (MFICORD) Dato Sri Dr Stephen Rundi Utom, recently conducted a study tour of several of Brazil’s farming and livestock research facilities.
The visit’s aim was to examine Brazil’s advanced livestock farming systems and formulate a strategic plan for cattle development in Sarawak.
“We are trying to not only emulate but see what we can do together, to collaborate to improve the research and livestock breeding centre back home in Sarawak,” Dr Rundi shared during an interview after visiting ABS Global’s Bovine Genetics and Breeding Techologies lab and centre in Delta, Brazil.
The study tour also aims to explore investment opportunities in the cattle industry in Sarawak as Sarawak mainly imports from Australia and New Zealand.
The Ministry in a press statement said, the cattle population in Sarawak is only 22,000 heads and is targeted to reach 80,000 heads with a self-sufficiency level of 15 per cent and a target of 25 per cent by the year 2030.
Brazil is known for its rapidly growing beef industry and vast agricultural land. It also has the second-largest cattle population, with approximately 226 million cattle. Brazil excels in the cattle industry due to its high cattle population, and efficient and competitive farming practices regulated by the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food Supply (MAFA) of Brazil and led by the Brazilian Animal Protein Association (ABPA).
Brazil, which is in the process of being declared free from Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) by the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH), is also free from African Swine Fever (ASF) and Avian Influenza (AI).
The delegation from Sarawak include Deputy Minister of International Trade and Investment Datuk Dr Malcom Mussen, Sarawak Department of Veterinary Services director Datu Dr Adrian Susin, Economic Planning Unit director Datu Lester Mathew, Department Of Agriculture Sarawak director Dominic Chunggat, Sarawak Land Consolidation and Rehabilitation Authority general manager Joseph Blandoi, and other senior officers and representatives from relevant agencies. – DayakDaily
