MIRI: The modern approach in the agriculture industry adopted by the Sarawak government will strengthen and propagate rural development, said Telang Usan assemblyman Dennis Ngau.
“This approach will also be a catalyst to promote social entrepreneurship within the farming sector of rural communities.
“Based on research on specific areas throughout the state, the government has identified several sources of growth and this has been enhanced through direct participation of rural folk, especially through agriculture-related activities,” Dennis said.
He pointed out that moving forward, the ministry is looking to take advantage of world’s demand for durian.
“But due to aged trees and inconsistent maintenance, the ministry has come up with training to rehabilitate the trees through its Fruit Trees Rehabilitation programme,” he explained.
Dennis said this at the closing of a one-day durian tree rehabilitation programme on Thursday.
“We are fortunate that Telang Usan is one of the areas in the state given attention in this undertaking.”
He added that the Agriculture Department sees great potential in this industry, and is taking advantage of the huge number of durian trees within the Telang Usan constituency.
“To do this, the ministry is focusing on technology and innovation to ensure durian trees will bear more fruits and that is why the department brought in experts to give us the knowledge.
“I hope you take all the knowledge shared seriously and bring it back and practice it immediately for desired results,” Dennis told participants.
Dennis said Telang Usan folk must embrace change and adapt to a more progressive thinking to improve their living standards.
On another note, he thanked Agriculture, Native Land and Regional Development Minister Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas for approving the building of a collection, processing and packaging centre (CPPC) at Long Lama Rural Growth Centre to purchase and process durian and other agriculture produce.
Dennis was also happy that the Agriculture Department accommodated his request to hold the training where more than 1,000 durian tree owners from throughout Telang Usan attended the programme, with the first batch held last year.
