KUCHING: The Smart Farming method will enable farmers to increase their income and productivity so that they can penetrate the global market.
Minister for Agriculture Modernisation and Regional Development Datuk Sri Dr Stephen Rundi Utom said the Sarawak government strongly support all the efforts of farmers, regardless of whether they are small or large -scale farmers, to further expand their enterprises.
Dr Rundi said this during his site visit to Taman Agro Rakan Impian, in Samariang yesterday (July 20).
He was accompanied during the visit by general manager of Sarawak Land Development Board (SLDB) Siang Mandaw and Sarawak Agro Fund manager Vincent Mambu.
The main purpose of the site visit was to review the latest developments of the Taman Agro Rakan Impian project.
They were briefed on the project by its manager, Zaidi Jamel who started the hydroponic farming in 2011.
“It is hoped that agricultural initiatives like this can attract youths to participate in agricultural programmes to generate income.
“Smart farming is also a modern way of farming which can reduce manpower, but can increase agricultural production,” he added.
“Good planning is the key to getting targeted results every month,” Zaidi said.
According to Zaidi, the increase in costs is one of the problems faced by farmers. However, the increase in fertilizer prices is not a reason to increase the selling price of agricultural products, he asserted.
Lavindar Singh, IoT system expert atTaman Agro Rakan Impian said the IoT system is divided into two parts, namely fully automation which reduces manpower and reliance on employees.
“The second part of IoT system is collection of data. With the collection of data, we can improve the yield collection of the farm. Through the data, we can see how to reduce wastage and cost of fertilizers and manpower,” said Lavindar.
Dr Rundi commented that Sarawak needed more young farmers who apply modern technology in their enterprises.
He assured that the state government would continue to provide various support including funds and consultation to farmers.
