Mussen (left) taking a closer look at some of the vegetables grown at the hydroponics farm with Yu. – Photo by Chimon Upon
KUCHING (Feb 29): The Sarawak government through the Department of Agriculture and Sri Aman Development Agency (Sada) is ready to work with entrepreneurs to expand hydroponics farming to Sri Aman, said Datuk Dr Malcolm Mussen Lamoh.
The Deputy International Trade, Industry and Investment Minister said hydroponics farming, a modern agriculture method which involves the cultivation of plants without using soil, can be replicated anywhere across the state including in Sri Aman.
“Sri Aman has a lot of potential now with the new road connectivity and it is also well known for some local vegetables that can be grown on a larger scale.
“It will be good if we can replicate hydroponic farming somewhere in Sri Aman so that we can build up the quantity for a sustainable and reliable food production,” he told a press conference after a working visit to Emma Hydroponics Farm in Batu Kawa here today.
The Batang Ai assemblyman is also looking to introduce hydroponic farming in his constituency, which is known for aquaponics, to combine both for a more sustainable form of agriculture.
“While waiting for the fish to grow to market size, the farming entrepreneurs can also generate an income through hydroponic farming where the vegetables are ready to be harvested in less than two months.
“So it’s a combination of both, but we need a commercial outfit to help out,” he said.
He said with Indonesia moving its capital city from Jakarta to Nusantara in East Kalimantan, there will be an increase in demand for food supply.
“The demand for food will not only be confined to Sarawak but also many people across the border.
“As such, if we can more or less assure the quality of our food production such as through hydroponics farming, we can link with our neighbouring countries such as Indonesia and even Singapore,” he said.
Mussen also encouraged the younger generation to embark into commercial farming and hydroponics.
“I believe we have a lot of graduates from universities such as Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas) and Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) and with their qualification, perhaps they would be interested to replicate and start up a hydroponics business in the future.
“The younger generation must be enticed to be involved in this industry because you can never go wrong especially in terms of food production and food security is very important for our state,” he said.
Also present were Emma Hydroponics Farm managing director Yu Kok Lee and Unimas Strategic Planning and Quality Management Centre deputy director Assoc Prof Dr Edwin Mit.