THE Ministry of Food Industry, Commodity and Regional Development will continue to explore the adoption of modern technologies such as farm mechanisation and digital application to boost industrial commodity productivity.
Minister Datuk Seri Dr Stephen Rundi Utom said his ministry is committed to developing a complete supply chain for the promoted sub-sectors to ensure the sustainability of agriculture in Sarawak.
He said the development of agriculture and projects will be implemented in a sustainable manner considering the impact of climate change and agricultural practices which is in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).
“There are six strategic thrusts which have been identified to spur the growth of Sarawak’s agriculture sector. The strategic thrusts are ensuring food security; industrialising the agrofood sector; augmenting farm infrastructure, distribution and marketing of agriculture produces; uplifting the livelihood of farmers and rural community; strengthening agro-commodity development and unlocking the potential of native customary right (NCR) land for agriculture,” he said.
He said this in his ministerial winding-up speech during the State Legislative Assembly (DUN) sitting on today (May 23).
Dr Rundi said the agriculture sector will be transformed and modernised into a high income and sustainable sector.
He revealed that this sector contributed 10.54 per cent, with a value of RM14.6 billion, to the state’s gross domestic product (GDP) last year.
“The growth in the agriculture sector is largely contributed by the improved production of palm oil which increased from 3.9 million tonnes in 2021 to 4.0 million tonnes in 2022. My ministry is targeting the sector to grow at 2.5 per cent in 2023 in line with the Post Covid-19 Development Strategy (PCDS) 2030,” he said.
To intensify the transformation of the agriculture sector, he said his ministry is committed to enhancing the development of existing transformative initiatives while introducing new ones.
“This includes focusing on ensuring food security, scaling up the agrofood sector production to generate increased export earnings and improving the livelihood of the farming community,” he added.
