Samarahan to have food processing centre
KUCHING: A RM600,000 food processing centre will be built in Kota Samarahan to process durian paste and pickle, which would be done according to strict standards, said Federal Agricultural Marketing Authority (Fama) directorgeneral Dato Ahmad Ishak.
He disclosed this when officiating at the opening of the three-day ‘Sarawak Fama Festival 2019’ at Medan Niaga Satok here yesterday.
“The centre will also be used to pack and process local fruits mainly for export,” he said, adding that this would reduce sole reliance on fresh but easilyspoilt products, while improving the livelihood of local farmers.
Ahmad also disclosed that Fama had identified signature products of each state to be further promoted and developed, slated for bringing significant benefits to the local community.
In this respect, he said the ‘Gula Apong’ (nipah palm sugar), and rambutans of the ‘Anak Sekolah’ variety had been identified as Sarawak’s signature products.
“Fama will work closely with the state government in making Kampung Tambak, Pusa as the main gula apong producing village by establishing a Nipah Park,” he said, adding that the ‘park’ would house a research and development centre.
Ahmad also thanked the Sarawak government for allocating another RM2 million to build a multi-storey car park at Medan Niaga Satok to ease traffic congestion there.
The inaugural Sarawak Fama Festival 2019 is meant to promote the agriculture industry as a profitable business sector, and also to promote Medan Niaga Satok as a one-stop centre for halal agriculture products from the region and other parts of the world.
The festival is estimated to generate about RM1 million in sales – it is expected to attract close to 70,000 visitors.
The festival is open from 8am to 10pm and it ends today.
It features 1,153 entrepreneurs including 92 farmers and 990 Medan Niaga Satok business owners.
Fama Festival 2019 is held in eight states throughout Malaysia to promote local agriculture products to a larger market and would also act as an identity of each respective state.