KUCHING: The Sarawak government is limiting its land use for oil palm planting in order to focus more on empowering the food industry.
Minister for Modernisation of Agriculture and Regional Development Datuk Sri Dr Stephen Rundi Utom noted that over 1.6 million hectares have been planted with oil palm in the state.
“And this is why we decided not to continue on looking for new areas for oil palm plantation,” he said.
He said this at a press conference on the upcoming Sarawak Agrofest 2022 at the Legislative Assembly (DUN) complex on Yesterday (September 6).
Dr Rundi pointed out that currently, the state government was looking for suitable sites for other crops such as paddy.
“At the moment, our rice production is only about 38 per cent self-sufficiency level, hence we have to mitigate any future unforeseen events where some countries might not be able to export rice to Sarawak,” he added.
Dr Rundi added that the Ministry has identified other crops such as coconut, banana, pineapple and also durian.
Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg had said that Sarawak has limit its land usage for oil palm planting despite palm oil being the biggest export for the state, in order to transition to food industry.
He emphasised that the approach for Sarawak was to develop Agro Park that is fully equipped with all the digital infrastructure and better flowing system.
