The development of industry is key to the sustainability of Sarawak's agricultural sector

KUCHING, 11 Nov: The development of the silvery industry must be strengthened to ensure that Sarawak's agricultural sector remains sustainable and is able to provide better economic returns for entrepreneurs.

The Minister of Food Industry, Commodities and Regional Development, Dato Sri Dr Stephen Rundi Utom said that agricultural activities should not be stopped at the level of cultivation and production alone, but should instead cover the entire supply chain including processing and marketing.

"The absence of effective processing activities and marketing strategies leads to seasonal crops such as rice and durian being at risk of falling, affecting market prices and entrepreneurs' income.

"If we can develop a sewing industry, it will bring about major changes and enable the agriculture sector to remain sustainable. This is very important to ensure that the agricultural industry can grow", he said.

He said this when speaking at the M-FICORD Dinner: 'Journey of Excellence' here, tonight.

Meanwhile, Dr Rundi also emphasized the importance of using new technologies in agriculture sector to improve not only production quantity but productivity and labour efficiency.

He said the application of technology allows employers to reduce physical labor consumption, while at the same time achieving better returns and economic performance.

"We need to embrace and adapt to new technologies so that we can not only increase production quantities, but also productivity.

"We work with less energy, but get better returns", he said.