Sarawak seeks Mardi's help to boost rice production
The state aims to expand its padi planting areas to become one of the country's top rice producers. Sarawak plans to plant 14,000 hectares of padi, projected to produce 240,000 tonnes of rice to achieve self-sufficiency.
"If Mardi can assist Sarawak by providing more seeds, we will be able to expand our padi planting areas. If we can plant an additional 14,000 hectares, we will be able to produce about 500,000 tonnes of rice," he said during the opening of the National Padi Conference on Tuesday (Aug 12) night.
Abang Johari noted that any excess rice produced by Sarawak could be shared with the rest of Malaysia, reducing the nation's dependence on rice imports.
He also mentioned that Sarawak would collaborate with Mardi and other agencies on rice research to improve yield per hectare. A study by Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) in Gedong increased rice yield from 1.2 tonnes per hectare to eight tonnes per hectare using new seeds and methods, including the Internet of Things (IoT) and machinery.
"The study found that rice could be harvested five times in 24 months. I believe this can succeed in other padi planting areas and increase farmers' income," he added.
Boosting padi production is part of Sarawak's post-Covid development strategy to ensure food security for the state and nation.
"We need to develop the agriculture sector with new technologies. Ultimately, we want to become a net food exporter," Abang Johari said.
Earlier, Deputy Agriculture and Food Security Minister Datuk Seri Arthur Joseph Kurup highlighted Sarawak's potential in padi production. He said increasing Sarawak's self-sufficiency in rice is crucial for both state needs and national food security.
To support these efforts, the ministry has allocated RM230 million for the padi industry in Sarawak, including developing new rice planting areas in Tanjung Bijat, Stumbin, Gran, Entulang, and Seduku under the 11th Malaysia Plan.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Barnama
44 minutes ago
- Barnama
Sarawak Premier Stresses Need To Safeguard Peace In South China Sea
KUCHING, Aug 13 (Bernama) -- Sarawak Premier Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg has urged ASEAN and China to maintain stability and foster constructive cooperation in the South China Sea to ensure continued peace and prosperity in the region. Speaking at a gala dinner held in conjunction with the 24th ASEAN-China Senior Officials' Meeting on the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) here tonight, Abang Johari said the meeting symbolised a collective commitment to safeguard the region. 'This region is our shared home and together we have the responsibility to ensure it remains a sea of peace and prosperity,' he said.
The Star
an hour ago
- The Star
Regional peace and prosperity a shared responsibility among Asean member states, says Abang Johari
Sarawak Premier Tan Sri Abang Johari Openg (second right) arriving at the state gala dinner, accompanied by Deputy Premier Datuk Amar Dr Sim Kui Hian (left) and Foreign Ministry secretary-general Datuk Seri Amran Mohamed Zin (second left). - ZULAZHAR SHEBLEE/The Star KUCHING: Asean remains committed to fostering peace, stability and constructive cooperation in the South China Sea, says Tan Sri Abang Johari Openg. The Sarawak Premier said this commitment was signified by the 24th Asean-China senior officials' meeting on the implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (SOM-DOC), taking place here from Aug 11 to 14. "We are deeply honoured to host this important meeting here in Kuching. "The Sarawak government is proud to be part of Malaysia's chairmanship of Asean in 2025 and will always be firmly committed to advancing our nation's efforts," he said at a state gala dinner in conjunction with the meeting on Wednesday (Aug 13) night. Abang Johari said Asean member states shared a responsibility to ensure that the South China Sea remains a place of peace and prosperity. In this regard, he said, history had recorded the significance of the non-alignment policy emerging from the Bandung Conference in 1955, which led to the concept of Zopfan (Zone of Peace, Freedom and Neutrality). "I believe the spirit of Zopfan is still prevailing and present in Asean," he added. Meanwhile, Foreign Ministry secretary-general Datuk Seri Amran Mohamed Zin said Kuching was a significant venue for the SOM-DOC as Sarawak faced the South China Sea and was a neighbour to several Asean member states. Sarawak Premier Tan Sri Abang Johari Openg posing for the Asean handshake with senior officers and delegates at the state gala dinner in Kuching. - ZULAZHAR SHEBLEE/The Star "Sarawak's location means the state also has significant and direct interest in seeing a peaceful, stable and prosperous South China Sea," he said. Amran said the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea was adopted by Asean and China in 2002, while negotiations on the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea (COC) began in 2018. He said these efforts reaffirmed both parties' commitment to respect international law, build trust and confidence among partners, resolve disputes by peaceful means and exercise self-restraint. He added that the Code of Conduct would be a set of rules governing relations and cooperation with regard to the South China Sea. "All these stem from our collective need to promote a peaceful, friendly and harmonious environment in the South China Sea for the better enhancement of peace, stability, economic growth and prosperity in our region and beyond. "Therefore, we senior officials and delegates from Asean and China convened in Kuching this week to continue our work towards full implementation of the DOC and to move forward the negotiations towards the finalisation of the COC," Amran said.
The Star
4 hours ago
- The Star
Analysis-Just in time? Manufacturers turn to AI to weather tariff storm
LONDON (Reuters) -Manufacturers like U.S. lawnmower maker The Toro Company are not panicking at the prospect of U.S. President Donald Trump's global trade tariffs. Despite five years of dramatic supply disruptions, from the COVID pandemic to today's trade wars, Toro is resisting any temptation to stack its warehouses to the rafters. "We are at probably pre-pandemic inventory levels," says its chief supply-chain manager, Kevin Carpenter, looking relaxed in front of a whiteboard at his office in Minneapolis. "I mean 2019. I think everybody will be at a 2019 level." Among U.S. manufacturers, inventories have roller-coasted this year as they rushed to beat Trump's deadlines for tariff hikes, only to see them repeatedly delayed. But since their post-pandemic expansion, inventories have mostly contracted, according to U.S. Institute for Supply Management data. Instead, "just in time" inventory management - which aims to increase efficiency and reduce waste by ordering goods only as they are needed - is back. But how can firms run lean inventories even as tariffs fluctuate, export bans come out of the blue, and conflict rages? One of the answers, they say, is artificial intelligence. Carpenter says he uses AI to digest the daily stream of news that could impact Toro's business, from Trump's latest social media posts to steel prices, into a custom-made podcast that he listens to each morning. His team also uses generative AI to sieve an ocean of data and to suggest when and how many components to buy from whom. It is a boom industry. Spending on software that includes generative AI for supplychains, capable of learning and even performing tasks on its own, could hit $55 billion by 2029, up from $2.7 billion now, according to U.S. research firm Gartner, driven in part by global uncertainties. HYPE "The tool just puts up in front of you: 'I think you can take 100 tonnes of this product from this plant to transfer it to that plant. And you just hit accept if that makes sense (to you)," McKinsey supply chain consultant Matt Jochim said. The biggest providers of overall supply chain software by revenue are Germany's SAP, U.S. firms Oracle, Coupa and Microsoft and Blue Yonder, a unit of Panasonic, according to Gartner. Generative AI is in its infancy, with most firms still piloting it spending modest amounts, industry experts say. Those investments can climb to tens of millions of dollars when deployed at scale, including the use of tools known as AI agents, which make their own decisions and often need costly upgrades to data management and other IT systems, they said. In commenting for this article, SAP, Oracle, Coupa, Microsoft and Blue Yonder described strong growth for generative AI solutions for supply chains without giving numbers. At U.S. supply chain consultancy GEP, which sells AI tools like this, Trump's tariffs are helping to drive demand. "The tariff volatility has been big," says GEP consultant Mukund Acharya, an expert in retail industry supply chains. SAP said the uncertainty was driving technology take-up. "That's how it was during the financial crisis, Brexit and COVID. And it's what we're seeing now," Richard Howells, SAP vice president and supply chain specialist, said in a statement. An AI agent can sift real-time news feeds on changing tariff scenarios, assess contract renewal dates and a myriad of other data points and come up with a suggested plan of action. But supply chain experts warn of AI hype, saying a lot of money will be wasted on a vain hope that AI can work miracles. "AI is really a powerful enabler for supply chain resilience, but it's not a silver bullet," says Minna Aila, communications chief at Finnish crane-maker Konecranes and member of a business board that advises the OECD on issues including supply chain resilience. "I'm still looking forward to the day when AI can predict terrorist attacks that are at sea, for instance." Konecranes' logistics partners are deploying AI on more mundane data, like weather forecasts. The company makes port cranes that are up to 106 metres (348 ft) high when assembled. When shipping them, AI marries weather forecasts with data like bridge heights to optimise the route. "To ship those across oceans, you do have to take into consideration weather," Aila says. RISING COSTS By keeping inventories low, firms can bolster profit margins that are under pressure from rising costs. Every component or finished product sitting on a shelf is capital tied up, incurring finance and storage costs and at risk of obsolescence. McKinsey has been surveying supply-chain executives since the pandemic. Its most recent survey showed that respondents relying on bigger inventory to cushion disruptions fell to 34% last year from 60% in 2022. Early responses from its upcoming 2025 survey suggest a similar picture, Jochim said. Gartner supply chain analyst Noha Tohamy says that without AI, companies would be slower to react and be more likely to be drawn into building up inventories. "When supply chain organisations don't have that visibility and don't really understand the uncertainty, we go for inventory buffering," Tohamy says. But AI agents won't put supply chain managers out of work, not yet, consultants say. Humans still need to make strategic and big tactical decisions, leaving AI agents to do more routine tasks like ordering and scheduling production maintenance. Toro supply chain chief Carpenter says that without AI, supply chain managers might need to run bigger teams as well. Is he worried that AI is coming for his job one day? "I hope it doesn't take it until my kids get through college!" (Reporting by Mark Bendeich; Editing by Sharon Singleton)
