By Yee Mei
KUCHING, May 23: The central region of Sarawak — mainly Kapit, Song, and Kanowit Districts — have been identified as the proposed site for the development of the ‘Dabai Belt’, says Sarawak Minister for Food Industry, Commodity, and Regional Development Sarawak Dato Sri Dr Stephen Rundi Utom.
“The region has an estimated 13,000 good-standing trees with an average production of 650 metric tonnes per season.
“To boost the production of Dabai, the Department of Agriculture Sarawak will initiate a programme to rehabilitate the existing Dabai trees in these areas by 2024.
“My Ministry is committed to commercialising high-value indigenous food crops such as Dabai, which is naturally available in certain parts of Sarawak to be promoted as a niche product,” he said while delivering his ministerial winding-up speech at the Sarawak Legislative Assembly (DUN) sitting today.
Meanwhile, Dr Rundi also touched on agro parks, adding that his ministry will continue to identify more land which are free from encumbrances to avoid implementation delays.
“I would like to seek full cooperation from all relevant agencies, particularly the Land and Survey Department, Department of Irrigation and Drainage, and other relevant agencies for the smooth implementation of agro park projects,” he said.
He added that to date, the approved five agro parks located in Samarahan, Betong, and Sarikei Divisions are in various stages of implementation.
“Out of the five agro parks, the Sungai Baji Agropark in Sarikei is in the final stage of completing the farm infrastructure, and it is expected to commence operation in the third quarter of 2023,” he said.
Dr Rundi also mentioned that the approved development of Precision Farming Parks in Sungai Sebiew Station, Bintulu and Kabuloh Station, Miri, are currently in the design stage.
“The parks are a vital component of commercial scale production of high-value food crops that will be equipped with modern farming facilities such as automated machines, sensors and Internet of Things (IoT).
“The adoption of precise farming technology will ensure greater efficiency and productivity of high-value food crops,” he said. — DayakDaily
