By Natasha Jee & Voon Yih Boon
BAU: A collecting, processing and packaging centre (CPPC) will be set up in Tasik Biru constituency to allow crop growers particularly banana grower to sell their produce.
Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas said the centre would be developed next year after the Department of Agriculture looked into the locality and further planning will start from there.
He said Tasik Biru assemblyman Datuk Henry Harry Jinep has proposed the CPPC to be set up so that crops can be sold to a wider market.
“When you want to send the crops outside Sarawak, there must be proper packaging and treatment. Therefore, this CPPC is important,” he said when officiating at the Agriculture Outreach Programme (AgriCOP) and the launch of the Kapok Banana Planting project at Kampung Singai at the Dewan Singai, Bau on Saturday (Oct 24).
Uggah, who is also the Minister of Agriculture Modernisation, Native Land and Regional Development, said this was to help local industries to market their products abroad.
“Datuk Henry has indicated the location of the proposed CPPC, but I cannot tell you now. And the cost of setting up the CPPC, we will work it out,” he said.
Earlier, Uggah also witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between a company Unicom Sdn Bhd and three villages, namely, Kampung Daun, Kampung Senibong and Kampung Tanjung Bowang for the first phase of Kapok banana planting project on over 90 acres.
Once the crop is ready to be harvested, the company will purchase it from the planters and export it.
Uggah said this was among the models that the ministry wants to develop throughout Sarawak.
“There will be a complete supply chain from providing financial and technical assistance to the farmers/planters, and the buyer will buy the crops from them. This way, the farmers will get good returns,” he said.
He explained that the problem for farmers is that they may not have the capital and do not have expertise to grow quality bananas, which is where the ministry and the Agriculture Department come in to assist.
“I am very happy to note that 57 individuals are going to cultivate their land for bananas, a crop that we want to develop in Sarawak and it will have a very bright future,” he said.
Uggah then announced RM1 million for expanding the banana project.
He also presented a grant of RM1.1 million from the Unit for Other Religions (Unifor) to Henry for building and upgrading churches in Tasik Biru constituency.
