DCM impressed with entrepreneurship of young men in starting mini crayfish farm

From right) Sim shows Uggah and Dennis a group of crayfish fry in a plastic bag

MIRI: Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah is impressed with two young entrepreneurs on their success in setting up a mini crayfish farm at a commercial centre along the Miri Airport Road.

During a visit to the farm last Saturday, Uggah who is also Minister of Agriculture, Native Land and Regional Development, gave his thumbs up to Elvis Hii and Willy Sim for their crayfish-rearing business interest under ‘Aqua Tech Z Sarawak’.

Joining in the farm visit were Assistant Minister for Local Government and Housing Datu Dr Penguang Manggil, and Telang Usan assemblyman Dennis Ngau.

A crayfish reared in one of the tanks in the mini farm.

“I am impressed by the entrepreneurial spirit of our young people now.

“Quite a number of them are venturing into unconventional areas in the agriculture sector. They know what they are doing. They go for trainings and are always keeping themselves informed of any development and technology in their businesses.”

He said although landless, it was not a problem for the two friends as they opted to use shoplots to establish their mini crayfish project last year.

“It is an irony. We have people with land but are keeping themselves busy fighting over ownership, or to claim an even bigger land.

“They fail to use such land and thus, get little returns.

“But these landless youths — they are earning good monthly incomes.”

According to Hii, they have good demand for the crayfish fry, which they sell locally.

He added that they would source the parent materials from rivers in the division.

‘S’wak Biovalley Pilot Plant a game changer in agro-sector’

Kuek (right) briefs Uggah on the facility while others look on.

MIRI: The agriculture sector in Sarawak is expected to undergo drastic changes through the Sarawak Biovalley Pilot Plant facility (SBPP), says Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah.
He said this was one of the strategies to transform agriculture in the state, which has great potential in the (agricultural) sector.
“Technologies will help to increase productivity. Technologies will not only enhance quantity, quality and sustainability, but it will also make the agricultural sector more cost efficient.”
Uggah, who is also  Minister of Agriculture, Native Land and Regional Development, visited the SBPP facility at Curtin University campus here yesterday, where he was briefed  by the R&D dean Prof Clem Kuek on the purpose of the facility, which serves as a bridge between lab scale studies and commercial production in bio-economy.
“The pilot plant provides an opportunity to scale up using industry-relevant processes and equipment, the bench scale results achieved by various research institutions and industry in Sarawak and rest of the country,” he said.

It also has a phytoprocess floor where the development of research on the extraction of compounds of commercial value from plants is conducted. Nearby is the bioprocess floor where the capabilities of microorganisms can be developed into products for the chemical, food and agricultural industries.
The RM60.6 million-SBPP project is managed by Ministry of International Trade and Industry, Industrial Terminal and Entrepreneur Development with Curtin University Malaysia as adviser on the design and the equipping of the facility.
The Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Research will take over ownership of the facility in the fourth quarter of this year.

https://www.theborneopost.com/2019/10/12/swak-biovalley-pilot-plant-a-game-changer-in-agro-sector/

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PPKS to set up College of Smart Agreculture

KUCHING: Sarawak Skills Development Centre (PPKS), through one of its subsidiary companies – International College of Advanced Technology Sarawak (i-CATS) – will set up College of Smart Agriculture (CoSA) in Mukah.
PPKS chairman Tan Sri Datuk Amar Abdul Aziz Husain said the Ministry of Education has approved the project to build the college, which is scheduled to be completed in August this year.
He pointed out that the decision to set up CoSA was taken following a call by Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg for PPKS to develop and offer courses that facilitate the use of digital technologies in agriculture.
“Our (PPKS) new campus in Mukah, which is scheduled to complete in August 2019, will be converted into CoSA that will accommodate 700 students, to offer courses such as aquaculture, precision farming and agro marketing to facilitate the application of the latest technology to transform the state’s agricultural sector,” he said.
Having CoSA will increase agricultural output and encourage the development of sustainable agricultural practices by farmers, he added.
He said this at the opening of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) symposium at Pullman Hotel here yesterday, officiated by Abang Johari.
Abdul Aziz also said that PPKS plans to set up an Advanced Automotive Training College in the near future,
which will go a long way in enhancing the range of TVET courses to support the state government’s development initiatives.
At the event, PPKS exchanged documents for memorandum of cooperation with Bendigo Kangan Institute, Melbourne in Australia, which Abdul Aziz said would pave the way to identify strategic initiatives such as education and training, teachers’ training, joint research and development projects.
He pointed out that TVET has gained increasing importance as the government, industry and TVET training providers strive to develop the workforce to support numerous development initiatives.
Minister of Education, Science and Technological Research Dato Sri Michael Manyin Jawong said like other developing countries and to fulfil the aspiration of the government for Sarawak to become a high income society and advanced economy, there was a need to improve human capital through TVET.
For this programme, he said the ministry was working together with other agencies and non-governmental organisations to promote TVET among the community and school leavers in rural areas.
Manyin was happy to note that TVET was receiving positive response and perception from parents and students unlike in the past, where it was considered as a last resort.
Manyin hoped that the symposium can deliberate on using the English language and on quality consistency for the courses offered in TVET institutions to benefit the industry and the graduates.
A total of 23 speakers from the country and overseas were invited to provide input for the three-day symposium, which runs until tomorrow.

Related Link : https://dayakdaily.com/i-cats-setting-up-university-college-in-mukah/

i-CATS setting up university college in Mukah

KUCHING, Feb 19: International College of Advanced Technology Sarawak (i-CATS) recently received approval from the Education Ministry to establish a university college.

Named College of Smart Agriculture (COSA), the new campus will be located in Mukah and is scheduled to be completed this August.

Sarawak Skills Development Centre (PPKS)-cum-i-CATS chairman Tan Sri Dr Abdul Aziz Husain said the campus would offer courses such as aquaculture, precision farming and agro marketing.

“We will be able to facilitate the application of the latest technologies to transform Sarawak’s agricultural sector. This will increase agricultural output and encourage the development of sustainable practices by farmers,” Abdul Aziz said at the launching of Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Symposium 2019 here today.

Taking up Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg’s recent call to the centre to develop and offer courses that facilitate the use of digital technologies in agriculture, Abdul Aziz added that this was also their commitment to facilitate the advancement of Industry 4.0 and digital economy in this region.

There was also an exchange of memorandum of cooperation between PPKS and Bandigo Kangan Institute, Melbourne, Australia, at the event today.

“This paves the way for us to identify joint strategic initiatives in areas such as education and training, teachers training and also joint research and development projects. We will also enhance this important relationship by organising joint activities such as seminars, workshops and training programmes, experts’ visits and staff exchange programmes,” he said.

With the support of the Sarawak government and technical expertise provided by the team from Bendigo, Abdul Aziz said PPKS planned to set up an Advance Automotive Training College (AATC) in the future.

He believed this would go a long way to enhance the centre’s range of TVET courses to support the state’s development initiatives. — DayakDaily