By Karen Bong
BINTULU, July 12: The traditional image of the agriculture sector—farmers armed with hoes and straw hats, engaging in laborious work that causes back pain and reflects poverty and hardship—must transform into one of high-tech agripreneurs equipped with tablets, computers, robots, drones and digital machinery.
Premier of Sarawak Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg emphasised that this shift from manual, backbreaking labour to technologically advanced farming practices is crucial because agriculture is no longer a subsistence activity but rather a full-fledged commercial food production activity that will contribute significantly to the food security of Sarawak and the nation as a whole.
“It (agriculture sector) is no longer perceived by ‘orang susah, orang miskin’ (involving hardship and poor people), but they are tech-savvy agripreneurs.
“To promote and modernise the agriculture sector, three components remain crucial: technology, infrastructure and market access. Sarawak government wants to elevate the standard of our farmers to agripreneurs,” he said when addressing the closing ceremony of the Congress on Sustainable Agriculture and Food Security (COSAFS) 2024 at a hotel in Bintulu, which was streamed live via Ukas Channel today.
Abang Johari highlighted the paddy cultivation pilot project in Gedong, where farming has shifted from manual, backbreaking labour to technologically advanced farming practices by embracing innovation and integrating digital solutions.
“Farming works do not necessarily give farmers back pain anymore as they are now supported by sophisticated technologies such as robots, sensors, aerial images, and programming to apply water, fertilisers, and pesticides,” he said.
The people behind this job, he continued, must possess certain skills and digital knowledge as they now use science and technology to collect data, analyse efficiency, monitor growth and quality, and more, which in turn saves cost and time while ensuring higher productivity and better yield.
“This means engineering, including mechanical and information technology background, is important. We want to upgrade the standard of our agripreneurs to embrace the latest technologies in the process of food production,” he added.
Abang Johari reiterated Sarawak’s seriousness in creating a more prosperous and efficient agriculture sector to boost productivity, ensure food security, ensure sustainability and improve the overall quality of life for those in the agriculture industry, especially rural communities in Sarawak.
“Sarawak government is committed to investing in the agriculture sector, including improving the household income of rural communities through various endeavours, including large-scale paddy cultivation,” he said.
The COSAFS 2024, organised by Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) Bintulu Campus in collaboration with the Ministry of Food Industry, Commodity and Regional Development (Mficord), is held concurrently with the International Scientific Conference on Indigenous Crops (ISCIC 2024) International Conference on Fisheries and Animal Sciences (FISAS 2024) and International Conference on Food and Industrial Crops (ICFIC 2024).
It gathered academicians, scientists, experts, industry professionals, policymakers and the public from within and outside the country to engage in knowledge sharing and critical discussions on sustainable agriculture and food security, in line with Sarawak’s vision to become a net food exporter by 2030.
The event also witnessed the exchange of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the Department of Agriculture Sarawak and UPM and the presentation of research collaboration between Bintulu Port Holdings Berhad and UPM Bintulu.
Sarawak Secretary Datuk Amar Mohamad Abu Bakar Marzuki, Mficord Minister Dato Sri Dr Stephen Rundi Utom, Deputy Minister of Food Industry Datuk Dr Abdul Rahman Ismail, Deputy Minister of Commodity and Regional Development Datuk Martin Ben, UPM Board of Directors chairman Prof Emeritus Dato Dr Ibrahim Komoo and UPM vice chancellor Dato Prof Dr Ahmad Farhan Mohd Sadullah. — DayakDaily
