MIRI: The first attempt to plant perennial varieties of rice in Sarawak in Kuala Baram showed very encouraging progress as its inaugural harvest is scheduled to be on 6 August.

Minister for Food Industry, Commodity and Regional Development (M-FICORD) Dato Sri Dr Stephen Rundi Utom said that six trial plots have been developed in the area with the performance of the crops so far meeting expectations.

According to him, Sarawak Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri (Dr) Abang Abdul Rahman Zohari Tun Datuk Abang Openg is expected to attend the inaugural paddy harvest.

"The crops surveyed today only take about two and a half months to reach maturity and are ready to be harvested.

"Two and a half months ago we came to plant this paddy, and today we can harvest it.

"I have tasted the seeds and they taste good, but we still need to make an assessment because there are some samples that need to go through a taste test first," he said.

He said this to the media after visiting a trial plot of perennial variety paddy owned by Borneoland Paddy Sdn Bhd in Kuala Baram, here on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, he explained, among the early positive indicators is the uniform growth of the crop and the ability of the variety to adapt to local climate and soil conditions.

"The most important thing is that this crop can survive here. Next we will see the results, and the third is whether we can expand the plant in other areas including in Jemoreng," he said.

Dato Sri Dr Stephen also informed that the project is a research collaboration between the Sarawak Government and Yunnan University, China which involves 30 varieties of perennial rice to identify one or two varieties that are most suitable to be planted in the state.

He said, depending on the success of the experiment, seed production will be carried out in Sarawak according to biosecurity protocols before being extended to farmers, including through the implementation of contract farming.

Commenting further, he explained that perennial rice is a new variety that was tested for the first time in Sarawak and has the potential to produce up to four harvests a year after the crop matures, thereby increasing the productivity of the state's rice industry.

The M-FICORD Minister also shared that research to increase hill paddy yield is actively being carried out as part of the government's long-term plan to strengthen Sarawak's rice production and increase the state's food self-sufficiency level.

In a related development, he said the Sarawak Government will establish the Sarawak Padi and Rice Board to coordinate the development of the state's rice and rice industry more comprehensively.

However, he explained, the establishment of the board was not aimed at taking over the role of Bernas, but rather complementing the existing ecosystem, including examining the possibility of establishing a special quota for Sarawak rice production.

Also present were M-FICORD Deputy Minister Datuk Abdul Rahman Ismail, Miri Division Resident Galong Luang, Director of Sarawak Department of Agriculture Dominic Chunggat and Director of Borneoland Paddy Sdn Bhd Datu Hii King Chiong. -UKASnews