BY GABRIEL LIHAN & NUR ATIQAH QURATULAINI
KUCHING: Planting paddy at home could potentially be a future norm as Sarawak looks to emulate countries such as Taiwan and Japan.
In stating this, the senior assistant director of paddy and grain division, Jafaruddin Ali from the Department of Agriculture (DOA), noted that paddy can be grown anywhere provided that there is sufficient water and fertiliser.
“The Centre for Technology Excellence Sarawak (CENTEXS) gave evidence that paddy can be grown around the area of the institution by harvesting the MR297 type of rice as seen today.
“This is a great potential demonstrating that paddy can grow and cultivated in areas with limited land space,” he told the media when met at the CENTEXS Paddy Testbed programme at CENTEXS Santubong today (April 4).
He added that looking at the potential of the industry, more collaborations will continue to happen with related parties not only in terms of seed production but also application of modern technology in the future.
In line with the aspirations of Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg who aims for paddy to be planted in a large scale and done in a modern way which will enable 100 per cent self-sufficiency level (SSL) by 2030.
Therefore, in response to this, the DOA will be working with various agencies not only in the agricultural industry but also with research and educational institutions.
“InsyaAllah, this collaboration will be done continuously not only here but also in other places that have potential such as CENTEXS Mukah and so on,” he said.
He added that collaboration with parties such as CENTEXS will make the rice cultivation industry more comprehensive up to its mechanisation system.
“We want to make sure that everything from seeding to harvesting goes smoothly because we know that this industry is still new in Sarawak.
“In order to achieve the aspirations desired by the Premier, we need to further develop the industry so that it can become like the palm oil industry which has proved tremendous success and showed rapid growth in the country.”
In a press release distributed at the event, it stated that the rice seed variety MR297 as recommended by Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute (MARDI) is capable and has the potential to produce a good harvest where this seed variety can produce around 7.5 to 8.9 tonnes per hectare within 110 to 115 days of planting, excluding the germination period.
