KUCHING: Datuk Seri Dr Stephen Rundi Utom has called on the younger generation to explore farming as a profitable and respected career in an effort to rejuvenate the farming industry.
The Minister for Food Industry, Commodity and Regional Development (M-FICORD) acknowledged the ageing farming population, many of whom are unable to continue working due to age-related limitations.
“What we have now is an aging farming population, they are unable to do much, so we need to attract the younger generation to get involved in farming with new methods, new environments, and so on.
“Surely, when they can see good profits or returns, I’m confident they will be interested in becoming farmers.”
Dr Rundi said this when met with reporters after officiating the handover ceremony of the Sarawak
Agriculture Department’s official vehicle at Agricultural Engineering Division Office compound, Jalan Kumpang here on Tuesday (Jan 21).
He added that Sarawak government has identified 14,000 hectares of land across the state to be developed for paddy cultivation.
“We aim to produce 450,000 tons of rice anually to fulfil local demand, with any excess intended for export.”
He is confident that the effort to transform Sarawak into a major rice-producing area in the future will be achievable if it receives strong support from the younger generation.
“I’ve just returned from observing how the implementation mechanism works from A to Z, and it is not impossible.
“Like in Australia, people involved in farming are regarded as having high status, but here, it’s the opposite and that’s what we want to change. We want to elevate the status of farming communities in the future,” Dr Rundi noted.
