KUCHING: Sarawak plans to promote greenhouse farming statewide under the 12th Malaysia Plan (2021 to 2025).
Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas said some 12 places statewide had been identified to use the precision farming mathod.
“We are proposing this to the government. Our Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg wants us to transform the state agriculture into a modern and productive commercial sector through precision farming,” he said.
He said this today (March 13) after visiting Tarat Agriculture Station where he was accompanied by State Agriculture Department director Dr Alvin Chai and its crop division head, Dominic Chunggat.
Uggah, who is also the Minister of Agriculture Modernisation, Native Land and Regional Development, said the greenhouse plan which would incorporate the use of the latest technologies like Internet of Things (IoT) and others, was expected to cost RM280 million.
“We now have our greenhouse farm at the Rampangi Integrated Agriculture Station in Kuching. It is a very successful model where some of the agropreneurs there are doing very well and they are earning good incomes,” he said.
Uggah added that the greenhouse would be based on the Rampangi model. It is one of the main development emphasis for the state agriculture sector under the 12MP.
“Sarawak is after all targeting to be a net producer and exporter of food and food products by 2030,” he said.
As for the Tarat Agriculture Station area, he said it had been identified as one of the areas for the greenhouse projects.
“The Tarat project on a 15-hectare site is expected to cost us about RM25 million to develop. And we want farmers here to embrace precision farming for better yields and income,” he said.
Earlier, Uggah also visited a private crawfish production project in the same area.
“We are facilitating the development by allowing the company, Thien Yien Enterprise Sdn Bhd, to use part of our Tarat Station facilities,” he said.
The local company, he said, is already specialising in the production and export of different kinds of sauces and restaurant food products to Asean countries, Hong Kong and others.
“It also sees the huge potential in crawfish especially for the export markets. I am very happy at the way the company has moved. It can be one of our model crawfish farms here,” he said.
Uggah was accompanied by the company managing director Pooh Chee Ngee during the visit.
He then paid a brief visit to the Tarat Indigenous Fisheries Research and Production Centre.
The centre is dedicated to the breeding of fish fry, especially empurau, which is Sarawak’s most famous and sought after gourmet fish.
