By Ling Hui
KUCHING, Sept 21: The Sarawak government has awarded RM3 million in funding to AgriHub@Gedong, a paddy transformation project in Gedong initiated by Universiti Putra Malaysia Bintulu Campus (UPMKB).
Sarawak Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg handed over the mock cheque to UPM Board of Directors chairman YAM Tengku Syarif Laksamana Perlis Dato’ Seri DiRaja Syed Razlan Syed Putra Jamalullail during the Congress on Sustainable Agriculture and Food Security (COSAFS) 2022 opening ceremony at a local hotel here today.
According to the COSAFS 2022 press statement, AgriHub@Gedong aims to increase rice productivity from 2 tonnes/hectare (t/Ha) to 10t/Ha, from five harvests every two years with new technology resulted from UPMKB research.
The project which signifies one of Sarawak’s first initiatives towards smart farming, will eventually increase the income of farmers in Gedong and boost its potential to become an agricultural hub.
“UPMKB plays a role in implementing the transfer of agricultural technology and best practices to increases agricultural productivity with the intention of making Gedong an agricultural hub.
“The main goal of the research carried out by UPMKB is to improve the economic development of the State and the country, thereby improving the quality of life of the people,” the statement also read.
Earlier on Sept 12, during a UPM delegation’s courtesy visit to the Sarawak Premier’s Office, Abang Johari had handed over RM1.4 million in funds for the first phase of the project.
AgriHub@Gedong will be carried out in collaboration with the Ministry of Food Industry, Commodity and Regional Development, previously known as the Ministry of Modernisation of Agriculture and Regional Development, as well as Swinburne University of Technology, Sarawak Campus. — DayakDaily
