Published on: Wednesday, October 24, 2007 |
BAU (Sarawak): Sarawak, a treasure trove of traditional red rice (TRR), through its Agriculture Department is undertaking a pilot project to commercialise the planting of high-nutritional rice in the state, Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Dr George Chan Hong Nam said Tuesday.
Dr Chan, who is also minister of Modernisation of Agriculture, said the project, a collaboration between the department and Nestle (Malaysia) Bhd, involved the offer of a full contract-farming scheme to 112 farmers at Serikin here and Sekuduk/Chupak in Siburan, Kuching division to cultivate the crop, which was expected to be harvested by the end of March next year.
He said initially, about 20 hectares at Serikin and another 25ha at Sekuduk/Chupak would be developed under the pilot project.
"I was informed that with the success of this pilot project, a total of 250-300ha of TRR will be cultivated annually in the future. Sarawak TRR has the potential to be a source of healthy rice for all discerning Malaysians," he said at the launch of the coloured rice variety at Kampung Serikin here Tuesday.
He said the scheme would lead to a more sustainable TRR farming in the state, adding that TRR was a key raw material needed for the manufacture of one of Nestle's ranges of infant cereals.
Dr Chan said the department and the Nestle team had identified four potential varieties - Udang Halus, Udang Besar, Katek Merah and Silah Merah - for commercialisation and local farmers would be given the opportunity to be part of the supply chain of global food giant.
"The selection criteria include high nutritional and anti-oxidant content, vigorous field performance and possibility for health and baby food," he said.
He said Nestle has appointed Empire Rice Mills to procure the raw red rice from the farmers, which would then be stocked, processed and delivered to Nestle as and when required.
Meanwhile, Nestle's executive director of production, Dr Magdi Batato, said the project would strive to improve the standard of living and livelihood of the farmers in a sustainable manner besides creating opportunities and boosting income levels.
"It exposes the farmers to good agricultural practices and helps them to be self-reliant. Through this programme we will add value to the TRR farming in Sarawak through optimum utilisation of the agricultural resources and the introduction of new farming innovations that could lead to improved yields and lower costs," he said.
Dr Batato said Nestle would continue to undertake research and development programmes with the Agriculture Research Centre (ARC) to evaluate new indigenous red rice varities.
Meanwhile, ARC senior research officer, Teo Gien Kheng, said Sarawak as the centre of mega biodiversity, currently has more than 100 traditional rice verities of hill and wet paddy, which were still being cultivated by the local farmers and accounting for some 85 percent of the state's annual output of rice.
She said ARC at Semongok near Kuching could boast of a collection of 1,700 accessions, including 45 coloured indigenous varieties, and these collections had been characterised and documented by ARC for future varietal explorations.
She said these traditional rice varieties were considered "extinct" in most Asian countries as such varieties were tall and generally not responsive to fertilisers.
"These environmental conditions produce diligent atypical Sarawak rice farmers who are working in harmony with nature as they engage in virtually chemical-free rice farming," she said. - Bernama
