Next week in BizHive Weekly

Being the largest state in Malaysia, it is perhaps a common miscomception that Sarawak would be one of the frontrunners of agriculture. However, this is not the case as the numbers of local farmers and livestock breeders have steadily decreased over the decades. Collectively, the complaints from our agriculture sector has always been focused on the lack of potential to export agriculture products outside of Sarawak and the difficulty in maintaining lower overhead costs. Next week on BizHive Weekly, we take a look at the push taken to rectify these issues and new trends in the local agriculture scene:

“Agriculture is one of key sectors in the transformation of Sarawak’s economy, and plays an important role in alleviating poverty, and uplifting the livelihood of the rural communities. Thus, there is a continuing need to significantly boost the growth of this sector. The government is committed to equip our players with the latest technology and creating new competitive edges to ensure Sarawak can become the preferred destination for investors and venture capitalists.

“In the past, when we planted too many bananas, they will go to waste because there will not be enough buyers. However, today, our fruits are no longer planted just for the population in Kota Samarahan, Kuching, Sibu or Miri. They are planted for the whole world, this is Sarawak’s future, not fairy tales. In the past, planting and rearing live stock was never an issue for us, but rather the selling of our produce and products was the stumbling block. Now, not anymore.”

Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas, Sarawak Minister for Agriculture Modernisation, Native Land and Regional Economy

“If you were to ask me how this region can start capitalising on hemp in their agriculture industry, I would suggest starting on food production from hemp. Hemp seed foods like big seeds for hemp oil that is rich in essential fatty acids like omega 3, protein, vitamins and minerals, and antioxidants. And after extracting the oil from the hemp seeds, the protein left in the seed can be processed to make meal, flour, breads and protein powder. All this are what is possible right now for this region.”

Philip Warner, Ecolife Science Industries managing director