‘The model farm developed by UPM in collaboration with the local people has produced paddy plants that yield five harvests within 24 months.’
– Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg.
I’m reading with great interest news of the 54.4-hectare paddy transformation project at Lubok Punggor in Gedong which will serve as a pilot model for scaling up rice production in Sarawak and potentially fulfilling up to 50 per cent of the state’s local rice demand.
Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg, who launched the project on Saturday, said if the project succeeded, it would be replicated in Tanjung Purun in Lundu and Lingga and Stumbin in Sri Aman.
Abang Johari, who is the Gedong assemblyman, added that the model could be extended later to Limbang, Lawas, Spaoh, Ba’Kelalan and smallholder farms in the state.
He said, “With this, Sarawak could achieve self-sufficiency in rice production and possibly export excess rice.”
I wonder what type of rice will be planted in the paddy transformation project at Lubok Punggor in Gedong and later in other areas of the state. Will it be white or red or black?
In an interview with the Malay Mail earlier this year, Abang Johari talked about using cutting-edge technology in rice cultivation at Lubok Punggor.
He said a study conducted by Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) showed the technology had the potential to elevate paddy farmers to the high-income bracket.
He revealed that the model farm developed by UPM in collaboration with the local people had produced paddy plants that yielded five harvests within 24 months.
Meanwhile, in another report carried by Sarawak Tribune on November 28, Minister for Food Industry, Commodity and Regional Development, Datuk Seri Dr Stephen Rundi Utom said the Internet of Things (loT) technology would be integrated into paddy farming practices starting next year at the Agriculture Institute Sarawak (IPS).
The minister said the effort would mark a significant step towards modernising agriculture in the state.
He explained that loT applications include the use of drones and mechanised equipment for tasks such as transplanting, plowing and fertilising traditional farming methods.
Rundi added young people were likely to embrace farming if modern technologies were introduced.
The launching of the paddy transformation project in Lubok Punggor in Gedong and the introduction of loT applications in paddy farming practices augur well for the people of Sarawak and the state’s economy.
It is good that the state will be reducing its dependency on imported rice by producing at least up to 50 per cent of its local rice demand.
It will be good for many young people to be involved in modern paddy farming. There is no need for them to leave their villages and aged parents in search of work in the towns and cities anymore.
Right now, many hectares of former paddy land are lying idle because many former paddy farmers have grown old and cannot work under the sun anymore. Their children and grandchildren have no interest in labour-intensive work.
Personally, it has been a long time since I ate locally produced rice. Aeons ago, when my grandparents were alive, they would visit us after the harvesting season, bearing hill and wet padi they planted themselves.
I can’t remember the exact taste of the rice planted with my grandparents’ sweat. But I remember it was very soft and fragrant.
This is one of my unforgettable memories of my childhood. My grandparents had to board a slow motor launch from Kanowit to bring the rice they planted to my parents in Sibu. They would then walk from the Sibu wharf to our rented room at a lane in the town.
The years may pass like water under a bridge but childhood memories like this stay forever with me.
When I went back to Kanowit recently, I learnt that my only surviving aunt does not plant paddy anymore because she is old and the work is too tedious.
“I eat rice that I buy from the shops,” she told me in the course of our conversation.
Because of her advanced age and poor health, she also does not plant vegetables anymore, even around the house.
I don’t think many villagers in my aunt’s kampung plant paddy anymore. Most of them have children or grandchildren who work in the government service and if they need rice, all they have to do is to buy it from the shops.
It is a pity to see idle pieces of land around the kampung.
My friends, what type of rice do you eat? I only eat Chinese or Vietnamese rice that I find in the supermarkets. Usually, I buy 10-kg packets of the cheapest rice in the market because I have to share it with my dogs and cat.
I don’t have any particular preference for any type of rice. Rice to me is rice, no matter how it tastes and where it is planted. Besides that, nowadays, I don’t take much rice. Three or four tablespoons are enough for me every meal.
Sometimes, at the wet markets, I see native traders selling small packets of local black or reddish rice. But I don’t buy them because I seldom have visitors at home.
Do you know this type of rice is good for making porridge which is usually eaten with sugar? It is a local delicacy that is available at a stall in Kuching’s Open Air Market.
The man who’s running the stall is also growing old. One day, the man and the stall will not be there anymore.
I look forward to sampling the rice grown in the paddy transformation project at Lubok Punggor in Gedong. Will it be tasty? Will it be cheap? Will it be easily available in all the supermarkets in the state?
