KUCHING (Aug 15): Sarawak Dayak Graduates Association (SDGA) and Nanjing Agricultural University (NAU) have joined hands to boost agriculture systems in Sarawak.
A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed at SDGA’s Invent Space at Tabuan Tranquility here yesterday, witnessed by Sarawak Deputy Minister of Youth, Sport and Entrepreneur Development Dato Gerald Rentap Jabu, marking their collaboration to unlock the region’s agricultural potential.
Speaking at the ceremony, Rentap discussed their focus on a specific initiative from the Sarawak state government’s Post Covid-19 Development Strategy (PCDS) 2030.
“One of the tasks is self-sustainability and agriculture is one of the pillars of it.
“We are blessed that Sarawak is a very big state with plenty of land and resources, as well as a population less than three million,” he said.
Elaborating on the topic, he said that the collaboration may assist to ensure the state’s food security.
“We need food security, because we still rely on the importation of goods and agricultural food products from outside. This was when we realised we needed to improve our food security.
“If you only have land but don’t have the technology, you’ll only be crawling instead of leaping forward.”
Noting that farming was the mainstay of most Sarawakians, Rentap hoped that the collaboration would be able to make Sarawak the main producer of food in this region.
“This MoU is an important step to encourage networking, learning how to transform what we have here into something commercially viable and how it can be added into our marketplace,” he said.
He added that with the state aiming to achieve developed status by 2023, agriculture is an important step they are looking into.
“It is hoped that collaborations such as this can help transform us, especially young people, with technology. This is why we need good partners and collaborations to move forward on a long term basis,” he said.
NAU was established in 1902 and is considered one of the best universities in China in terms of agriculture.
Also present were Senator Dato Ahmad Ibrahim and Dean of Nanjing Agricultural University Prof Dr Han Jiqin.
(Taken from The Borneo Post)