BY SARAH HAFIZAH CHANDRA
KUCHING: The common public perception of conventional agriculture no longer applies to today’s modern agriculture, said Datuk Dr Abdul Rahman Junaidi.
Partly for that reason, there are young people who are keen to venture into modern agriculture, said the Sarawak National Youth Organisation (Saberkas) vice-president.
“The perception has always been that farmers go to the field and be covered in mud. However, this is not the case in modern agriculture as it uses technology,” he said during Saberkas Pantai Damai branch dinner at the Waterfront Hotel last Friday (Oct 16).
Abdul Rahman stated that in precision farming, for example, farmers use technology to manage their farm activities.
“In precision farming and the usage of Internet of Things (IoT), farmers can computerise their systems. This is one of the things that can attract the youth to modern agriculture,” he said.
Abdul Rahman observed how youth in modern agriculture are able to produce quality products despite not having large pieces of land.
“There is the Agriculture Facilitation Fund (AFF) under the Ministry of Modernisation of Agriculture, Native Land and Regional Development (Manred) available to help the youth who are interested to venture into modern agriculture,” he said.
Meanwhile, Saberkas Pantai Damai branch chairman, Mohamad Hasfa Saleh, said that there will be a programme on the basics of agriculture for 100 youth from Pantai Damai area.
“This is one of the many programmes that we have in store for the youth of Pantai Damai. We are inviting 100 to the programme to bring modern agriculture to our area,” he said in his welcoming address.
Mohamad Hasfa added that the youth are interested in modern agriculture particularly on the two commonly used methods.
“Our youth are interested in fertigation and hydroponic. They will gain more knowledge on these matters. We are inviting them through the respective units in Pantai Damai,” he said.
The programme was suggested by Abdul Rahman and it will be held jointly with the Department of Agriculture Sarawak on Oct 24.
Mohamad Hasfa also congratulated Abdul Rahman on his recent appointment as the vice-president of Saberkas.
