Transforming rural areas through agriculture
Rural areas in Sarawak stands to gain from agriculture development due to its huge amount of land which is rich in bio-resources.
As the largest state in Malaysia, potential is rife in Sarawak’s 2.0 million hectares (ha) of land for agricultural development, according to the State Planning Unit (SPU) under the Chief Minister’s Department.
The SPU believed that there is an estimated marine fish production potential of 330,000 tonnes per year.
The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations forecasts that world demand for agriculture products will grow over the next three decades albeit at a moderating rate.
The organisation believed that demand for agriculture produce will be supported by food consumption in China and India as well as peoples’ preference for healthy diet.
It also observed that consumer demand for fish remains brisk, with more people worldwide appreciating the health benefits of regular fish consumption.
As one of the countries which relies substantial amount on food imports, the cultivation of crops and agriculture produce in Sarawak which in turn can be marketed is one of the solutions to address the situation.
Felcra Bhd’s ( Felcra) chairman Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin during a recent function in Sarawak said Malaysia needs to increase its self-sufficiency in food since there was an imbalance in the country’s food export and import.
The country has exported just RM6 to RM7 billion worth of food but imported more than RM40 billion in food.
With increasing population and demand for various types of food and spices, there are opportunities in which local agriculture players can tap into to generate higher income.
Besides, the state government encourages aspiring agriculture players especially those residing in the rural areas to venture into the agriculture industry to uplift themselves from the poverty circle.
Grow, market and sell The development of agriculture produce will enable rural community to earn more income through the marketing and exports of their crops and produce.
On this point, Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Adenan Satem urged smallholders and commodities entrepreneurs in Sarawak to modernise and commercialise agriculture.
The government is committed to strengthening the country’s economic development growth in order to increase the income and improve the socio-economy of the people including those involved in commodity-based industries.
“To assist (agriculture players) them in improving their productivity and income, the government offers various incentives and assistance such as Palm Oil Smallholders Replanting Scheme, Cantas Discount Scheme, Farmlevel Quality Improvement and Increment Scheme and more as well as programmes to enhance the revenue of the smallholders so as to achieve the target income of RM4,000 per month in 2020.
“This is one of the ways to develop the state’s rural areas and I will concentrate on the policy for rural development because you deserve it,” he said when officiating at the National Smallholders and Commodities Entrepreneurs Conference (NSCEC) last year.
Adenan opined that agriculture players and agropreneurs should emulate the modern agriculture practices of farmers in the United States (US) and other developed countries that produce more than sufficient food for their country as well as for export.
“The farming population in the US comprises only two to three per cent but they can produce more food because they have developed modern methods of agriculture,” he observed.
In the meantime, Adenan noted the commodities sector in Sarawak which covers palm oil, rubber, timber, cocoa and pepper is one of the main contributors to the country’s export earnings, with the state’s commodities sector export value amounting to RM8.77 billion in 2014.
“Rapid development of this sector has contributed significantly to the country’s overall commodities sector production.
“For instance, the pepper commodity, around 15,792 ha or 98 per cent out of the national total of 16,021 ha planted areas are in Sarawak.
“Whereas for rubber plantation, the land area in Sarawak is 172,831 ha (or 16.2 per cent) out of the overall 1.07 million hectares of rubber plantations in Malaysia,” he observed, adding that the number of smallholders involved in commodities sector in the state was 153,220 people as of 2015.
Changing landscapes, changing livelihood
Concurring with Adenan, Minister of Modernisation of Agriculture and Rural Economy Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas believed rural areas can be transformed through agriculture development to assist the community there to get out of poverty and the low-income trap.
“The highlands present a great potential for rural transformation, if it is properly planned and developed for agriculture.
“These transformation will enable rural folks to earn more and help the Penans escape from the clutches of poverty.
“We hope the number of hardcore poverty cases will be reduced to a minimum by 2018,” he said during a press conference after the Department of Agriculture ( DOA) presented agriculture produce such as ‘terung asam’, tapioca and banana from the Penan community in Long Beruang at an event recently.
Uggah, who is also Deputy Chief Minister shared that human capital development programmes conducted by the DOA has changed the lifestyle of the rural community through raising livestock, fishing and growing crops.
He observed that agricultural activities has not just provide the rural community with food, but assisting them to generate additional income through the sale of agricultural produce to enhance their standard of living.
He revealed that the DOA through the Regional Economic Development Authority (Recoda) is planning to establish a 20-ha station complex and a field station spanning 614 ha to act as a research and development centre. Uggah pointed out that the state government’s effort in using rural growth centres (RGC) to transform the rural community such as Ulu Baram is bearing fruits.
This is one of the ways to develop the state’s rural areas and I will concentrate on the policy for rural development because you deserve it. Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Adenan Satem, Chief Minister