Dr Rundi (second left) and other members of Manred entourage are briefed on Sky Urban’s modern farming by its representative.
SINGAPORE (July 8): The current food supply disruption and crisis around the world have bolstered interests among many nations to increase their own supplies and also to diversify their sources of food supplies.
This is no different to Sarawak with a population of only about 2.8 million people.
The current supply chain and logistics disruptions have echoed the need for Sarawak to relook at its own food production so as not to be too dependent on imports.
The Sarawak Trade and Tourism Office Singapore (Statos) in a statement yesterday said with the right strategy and planning, the state has the potential to become a major producer and exporter of food products.
Sarawak has vast land, water resources and is located on Borneo island, relatively free of natural disasters.
“What Sarawak needs are investors in our agricultural sector including aquaculture and livestock farming.
“Sarawak welcomes investors to introduce modern farming methods which will increase production yields and have these products exported to Singapore and beyond,” it said.
With this objective in mind, Sarawak has on July 4, 2022, through its government agency the Sarawak Land Development Board (SLDB), signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Singapore’s Sky Urban Solutions Holding Pte Ltd, basically to develop modern agricultural projects within Sarawak.
These modern agricultural facilities are deemed to be much more appealing to the younger generation of farmers and also reduce the number of manpower, increase productivity and environment sustainability.
Sky Urban’s modern farming is a relatively new and a high-density approach to profitable and reliable farming.
Widely recognised as a pioneer and leading developer of vertical farming technology, Sky Urban’s patented farming system has won both local and international design awards and is also a major player in Singapore’s quest to increase local food supplies.
Sky Urban’s vertical farming technology uses green urban solutions to produce fresh and safe vegetables while taking up minimal land, water and energy resources.
This technology uses green urban solutions to produce fresh and safe vegetables while taking up minimal land, water and energy resources.
Other notable advantages include vertical farms that can be used anywhere as they do not depend on availability of large tracts of arable land, and such a system is not limited to vegetables but can also be used for fish and shrimp farming in a controlled environment.
Sarawak’s Minister of Modernisation of Agriculture and Regional Development (Manred), Dato Sri Dr Stephen Rundi, welcomed investors to Sarawak, bringing in with them technologies for the transformation of the state’s agriculture sector.
Singapore is welcomed to take advantage of the available resources and incentives that Sarawak provides.
“At the same time, Singapore can assist us in achieving our vision 2030. To ensure a win-win transformation of our traditional farming community into agropreneurs, we encourage the local farmers to adapt to changes and new technologies,” he said.
This will help improve the household income to RM6,000 per month by the end of 2030.
Meanwhile, Statos chief executive officer Chew Chang Guan said the MoU signing is definitely a step forward and currently, at least two other Singapore companies are in talks with Statos to set up their agri-food production hubs in Sarawak.
The Manred entourage to Singapore consists of Deputy Minister of International Trade and Investment Datuk Dr Malcolm Mussen, Deputy Minister of Manred 1 (Modernisation of Agriculture) Datuk Dr Abdul Rahman Ismail, Deputy Minister of Manred 2 (Regional Development) Martin Ben, permanent secretary Datu Edwin Abit, Department of Veterinary Services director Dr Adrian Susin and Department of Agriculture director Dominic Chunggat.