Mardi told to intensify its AGORA Agropreneur programme
KUCHING: The Malaysian Agriculture Research and Development Institute ( Mardi) is urged to intensify its AGORA Agropreneur programme for young Sarawakians in the agro sector.
Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah, in making the call, commended Mardi’s AGORA Young Agropreneur programme, which trains youths and encourages them to venture into agro industry.
“I congratulate Mardi for successfully organising its Customers Day and AGORA Young Agropreneur programme.
“The programme helps us to move towards the right direction as the state too is also actively promoting the agriculture and agro industry sector.
“I am appealing to Mardi to expand the programme to the length and width of Sarawak so that more young people, especially in the rural areas, can learn something from them,” he told a press conference after officiating at Mardi’s Customers Day here yesterday.
Uggah, who is also Minister of Modernisation of Agriculture, Native Land and Regional Development, said the state government hoped that through AGORA Agropreneur programme more youngsters in Sarawak would venture into the agro sector in years to come.
Mardi’s AGORA Agropreneur programme has so far produced 250 young entrepreneurs in Sarawak since 2014.
Uggah said another interesting thing about Mardi was that they even have the machinery, which looks simple but serves the purpose.
“Just now, I saw they processed cordial, where in a short period of time they managed to produce several bottles.
“So, Mardi’s entrepreneurs may begin with small capital and after that when their business expands, they can upgrade themselves to producing with a more advance technology, which Mardi has,” he said.
The AGORA Young Agropreneur Programme provides exposure to entrepreneurs and potential entrepreneurs aged 18- 40 years from various fields of agriculture on the concept of modern entrepreneurship, business basics, technical talks on crop-related, livestock and food processing sector.