Teng Bukap agro centre to target export market
KUCHING: It is hoped that the coffee and ‘kerepek’ (chips) incubation and processing centre in Teng Bukap, upon being operational, would produce quality products to be marketed outside Sarawak, says Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah.
“We have approved this centre and later, we hope that it would not only produce (products) to be sold in Kuching.
“We will determine the quality and how to meet the needs of the international market. We also want to come up with a standard so that the coffee could be sold outside Sarawak.
“That’s the standard that we want to create here,” he said at the launch of the Agriculture Community Outreach Programme (AgriCOP) and also the earth-breaking ceremony of a coffee and ‘kerepek’ processing incubator at Teng Bukap in Padawan near here yesterday.
Uggah, who is also Minister of Agriculture Native Land and Regional Development, said the ‘kerepek’ from here could also be exported.
“We are already selling banana chips to Taiwan, so I believe some of the ‘kerepek’ here whether (they are made from) bananas, sweet potatoes and other vegetables, can also be sold far.
“That’s why I hope the Agriculture Department would make sure that the production flow would meet the requirements of international standards. This would open up opportunities to coffee growers and also incubators who produce the chips. This is our way of transforming our agriculture,” he said.
Uggah also reiterated his message for the local youths to take up modern farming, adding that the Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) had always been encouraging them to take up the profession.
“Your future is very bright in the sector as agro-entrepreneurs. Now, there are very big potential and good money to be made from it.
“We have worked out the relevant modules to assist, such as the fertigation and hydroponic systems for vegetable and fruit farming. There are the programmes for breeding of livestock and fish. We also have the various financial and material assistance and training as well,” he added.
Uggah said the smallholders too had a vital role to play in the whole supply chain.
In pointing this out, he singled out a farmer at the Rampangi Agriculture Research Station in Kuching, who was earning an estimated annual income of RM100,000 from growing ginger.
He also highlighted Sarawak’s goal of becoming a key net exporter of food and food products by 2030, and towards realising this, he said it needed to transform agriculture into a technology-driven sector helmed by the youths.
“We too need to reduce our food deficit bill, which stands at RM4 billion annually.
“Many of what we import, we can produce locally,” he pointed out.
In this regard, Uggah said
the state already had a good start; for instance, last year it exported live pigs and pork products worth RM100 million to Singapore – a nation known for its stringent food safety standards.
Other products exported to the island republic included Batang Ai tilapias, as well as durian and durian paste, which had also been exported to China, he added.
In his speech earlier, Assistant Minister of Agriculture Native Land and Regional Development Datuk Roland Sagah Wee Inn said the AgriCOP was Uggah’s brainchild, meant to transform agriculture in Sarawak into a modern sector, leveraging on new technologies, ‘Big Data’ and ‘Internet of Things’ (IoT).
Agriculture Department Sarawak director Dr Alvin Chai, Veterinary Services Department Sarawak director Dr Adrian Susin Ambud and Serian Resident Tuah Suni were also present at the event.
We will determine the quality and how to meet the needs of the international market. We also want to come up with a standard so that the coffee could be sold outside Sarawak.
— Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah, Deputy Chief Minister