SIBU: Sarawak has great potential in the aquaculture sector to generate income for the country through the export of fishery products.
“This is because Sarawak has a vast area covered by water (150,000 hectares).
“The aquaculture industry is one of the important sectors that will be developed under Sarawak’s Post Covid-19 Development Strategy (PCDS) 2030,” he said at the closing of a basic aquaculture course held in Pulau Li Hua hotel here Sunday (Feb 26).
He was represented by councillor Teo Boon Siew who delivered his speech in Bahasa Malaysia.
Tiong who is also Dudong assemblyman pointed out that Sarawak is committed to increasing and improving the scale of food production commercially and for export.
It does not only cover agricultural crops and livestock but also the fisheries sector, he stated.
He said the aquaculture industry has a large market and it can be one of the country’s economic resources and one of the strategies to benefit the people and the country.
“Since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, our country’s economy has been affected.
“The main purpose of organising this course is to increase knowledge and understanding among the participants on the aquaculture industry.
“The knowledge and information gained by the participants including community leaders can be spread so that more people interested in this industry can learn and understand how to run aquaculture and apply for subsidies and so on,” he said.
In this connection, he said the participants should take advantage of this course provided by the government to help the people further develop their economy.
Tiong also hoped that this Basic Aquaculture Course, a collaboration between the government sector and the private sector can be further strengthened so that the modernisation agenda of the agro-food sector can be empowered for the well-being of Malaysian families.
The half day course attended by 180 participants from the Bawang Assan and Dudong areas was conducted by Senior Fisheries Officer of the Sarawak Department of Agriculture Chin Han Kiat.
Also present was the course’s organising chairman Kapitan Wong Hua.
