SS: Modern agriculture contributes to economic growth, job creations

KUCHING: Modern agriculture has high potential in contributing to economic growth and job creations in a digital economy, says State Secretary Tan Sri Datuk Amar Mohd Morshidi Abdul Ghani.

Thus, the Sarawak government will focus on this sector in its digital economy strategy as the sector (farming and animal rearing) is estimated to contribute 14 per cent to the gross domestic product (GDP).

“We need to dispel the thought that agriculture is not part of economic growth as agriculture using modern approach has huge potential from the economic point of view.

“What is most important is that it creates many job opportunities which is in line with the goal to achieving Sarawak’s digital economy,” he said at the Business Events Sarawak ( BESarawak) -Tribal Gathering held here yesterday.

He added that agriculture was estimated to create over 300,000 job opportunities.

Thus, the government is developing talents in the sector which includes biotechnology, soil experts, system engineers, drone operators, market analysts, smart business analysts, and many more.

Speaking on Sarwak’s economic growth, he said it had to achieve 6.5 per cent of the GDP annually to be a high-income economy by 2030. However, this cannot be achieved by the government alone, but needs co-operation from all to spearhead economic growth towards digital economy.

The government is committed to providing infrastructure to connect the people in Sarawak especially Internet connectivity to enable them to be a part of eusahawan (digital enterprenuer) or e-tourism, he added.