KUALA LUMPUR - The Sarawak government is looking into various approaches that can be adopted as long-term solutions to the food security and inflation issues, said its premier Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg.
He said that such approaches were much needed as the country was facing inflation which affected the life of Malaysians, due to the country's high dependency on imported goods.
"So, we have to tackle this issue (inflation) on a long-term basis and that is why the Sarawak government will, among others, build an agro park in various places within the Bintulu and Kuching regions.
"These agro parks are dedicated to transforming the agriculture sector so that it can be export oriented and not only for local consumption. I believe Sarawak has the strength in this as it has no problems with land, only that it must be managed well."
The premier said this at the launching of the Kenyalang Biris rice and Carus white pepper at Lalaport, Bukit Bintang City Centre here, held concurrently with the soft launch of Sarawak Agrofest 2022 and Nyamai Sarawak Gastronomy Festival 2022.
Later at a news conference, Abang Johari said Sarawak was now limiting land use for growing oil palm as it wanted to focus on efforts in boosting the food industry.
He said that through the policy being implemented, Sarawak also placed importance on the use of technology such as the Internet of Things (IoT) in maximising agriculture output and giving added value to the food industry.
"If we look at the situation today, Malaysia is also getting the effects of the geopolitical tension despite being a food producer.
"That's why (in Sarawak), we've conducted a brainstorming session, looking at other countries like Thailand and China in developing their respective agriculture sector," he added.- BERNAMA