Agro sector to lead in wireless sensor network application — Rais

July 30, 2010, Friday

PUTRAJAYA: The agricultural sector is to lead in the application of the wireless sensor network (WSN) which provides invaluable services with its short-range communications capabilities, Information Communication and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim said yesterday.

TAKING THE NEXT STEP: Salang signs a plaque to symbolically launch the National Centre of Excellence for Sensor Technology in Putrajaya. Vice-chancellor of Universiti Putra Malaysia Prof Tan Sri Dr Nik Mustapha R Abdullah is at left.— Bernama photo

The expertise derived in agricultural technology through WSN was expected to propel Malaysia as the leader of WSN technology globally, he said.

“The use of WSN in agriculture will promote the transformation of agriculture from a resource-based industry to one based on intensive knowledge,” he said in his speech opening the national seminar on wireless sensor technology and launching the National Centre of Excellence for Sensor Technology (Nest).

The text of Dr Rais’s speech was read out by Deputy Minister Datuk Joseph Salang.

Dr Rais said Nest was established by Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) to undertake research and development (R&D) and promote the use of WSN technology in the various sectors in the country.

“NEST is undertaking research to create new research opportunities, encompassing design activities and development of new technology, equipment design and new sensor software, as well as new communication protocol for WSN,” he said.

At a news conference after the event, Salang said the agricultural and engineering sectors were among the sectors with great potential to apply the WSN technology.

He said WSN technology could contribute towards stepping up growth spurred by productivity and innovation.

In the agricultural sector, WSN was used in the fertigation system to monitor soil temperature and condition to produce greater crop yield. — Bernama

while in the engineering sector, it was used in slope monitoring, he said. — Bernama

Agro industries, a ‘money machine’ for rural folks

KUALA LUMPUR: With only RM50, Ahmat Termizi Dollah Kusni of Kampung Bukit Bangkong, Sepang has managed to become a millionaire in the tapioca chips industry.Despite stumbling along the way for three times in his journey as a businessman, the 50-year-old continued his business foray with patience and perseverance and this had paved the way for him to achieve success.

Ahmat Termizi’s association with the tapioca chips business began in 1986. He started with RM50 capital and a borrowed frying pan. “I have no experience in business and had failed three times, to the extent that I had to work as a lorry driver to make ends meet,” he told Bernama when met at his potato chips mill, Jamirah Food Industries (M) Sdn Bhd located at Jalan Mempelam, Kampung Bukit Bangkong, Sepang in Selangor.

His luck turned for the better when Ahmat termizi set up Jamirah Food Industries (M) Sdn in 1996. Ahmat Termizi is the company’s managing director. The company now has three subsidiaries — Jamirah Enterprise, JFI Marketing Sdn Bhd and Gemba Marketing Sdn Bhd.

In 2004, the company received the Good Farming Practices Certificate from the Agriculture Department, and this opened a new page for Ahmat Termizi to expand his tapioca chips business. “After 20 years of hardwork, I finally managed to penetrate the foreign market and now almost 20 per cent of my mill’s production like the tapioca chips go to foreign markets such as in the United Kingdom, Australia, Dubai and Vietnam,” he said.

At present Ahmat Termizi employs 20 fulltime workers. The mill is able to produce 3.0 tonnes of tapioca chips a day. According to Ahmat Termizi, his brand of tapioca chips under the ‘Agro Chips’ label reached RM5 million turnover a year with 80 per cent going to the domestic market and the rest for countries abroad.

Another agriculture entrepreneur, Mahathir Talib, is involved in the commercial breeding of goats in Kampung Ulu Melaka, Alor Gajah in Melaka. For the 35-year-old, agriculture sector can provide handsome earnings if one capitalised on the opportunities provided by the government as there are vast potentials in the livestock breeding sector.

“Seeing this potential, I set up MP Livestock at Kampung Ulu Melaka Pindah for the breeding of goats and cattle”, Mahathir said when met at his livestock breeding farm. The farm measures some 93 metres long and 10 metres wide. Mahathir said he initially had 65 goats, 60 females (does) and five males (bucks) from various breeds like Jamnapari, Boer, Rubian, katjang, Sanean as well as Barbados, Lonte and Malin sheeps.

He also collaborated with several suppliers of goat breeds. Mahathir who also supplies fresh mutton now has some 400 goats and able to supply 800 kg of fresh mutton a week. “Price of mutton now is good and I am able to sell the goats at between RM450 and RM1,800 each depending on the weight and breed,” he said.

For another livestock trader, Othman Abu Hassan, 50, from Kampung Panchor, Durian Tunggal in Melaka, despite the tough challenges in livestock breeding he has never given up as he believed hardwork would finally bring the rewards. Othman started his livestock venture 2004 with RM1,000 capital where he bought four katjang goats and by mid year he bought another 15 for RM3,000.

A year later, he started to rear cattle. He began with four heads of cattle at RM3,200 capital before bringing the count to 51 heads at RM75,000. According to Othman, one of the main challenges in the industry is the livestock disease as it could wipe out a large number of the livestock resulting in huge losses. “To this date, I have 140 heads of cattle and 170 goats,” he said. Othman said he feeds his lifestock with farm feed mixed with oil palm fronds, grass, palm sugar and sago.

In another development, Agriculture and Agro-based Industries Deputy Minister Datuk Rohani Karim said in 2008, Malaysia had to import 103,000 tonnes of beef worth RM883.9 million and 18,000 tonnes of mutton valued at RM188 million. She said Sarawak and Sabah have the potential of becoming the centres for commercial livestock breeding as the World Veterinary Health Organisation had declared Borneo free of the food and mouth disease. “So far the nation is only able to produce 25 percent of its demand for meat despite having the potential to produce more,” she said.

Rohani said the Ministry of Agriculture and Agro-based Industries would discuss with the state government for Batang Lupar to be made a Permanent Food Production Park. She said the agro-based industries have great potential in boosting the income of those in the rural areas. Rohani has hope that the establishment of the Agriculture Development Council for parliamentary constituencies would further boost the sector in this country. — Bernama

Land Information System interests Australia, Morocco

April 7, 2010, Wednesday

MUKAH: Sarawak’s Land and Survey Information System (Lasis) has attracted the interest of authorities in Australia and Morroco.Land and Survey Department’s director Datuk Sudarsono Osman said he would be going to Sydney in Australia soon and Morroco by next year to give briefings on the integrated and comprehensive land administration system developed in the state. “The briefings are at their invitations,” he said at the launch of the system for the Mukah Division by Chief Minister Pehin Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud here yesterday.

The system has been continuously enhanced since it was jointly developed 25 years ago at a cost of RM2.56 million. The developers are the Land and Survey Department, Sarawak Information Systems Sdn Bhd (Sains), and the Information and Communication Unit of the Chief Minister’s Department.

Leveraging on technology, it has improved the department’s service delivery to a new level and transformed some of its working culture. It now allows one-day registration of land instruments with automated e-mail notification to inform legal firms instantly upon their registration.

The system allows online payment of land rent and premium and also enables landowners to view the rent record prior to the payment. Lasis provides title search facility to the public for them to search land titles at any land and survey divisional offices at a nominal fee.

Online submission and approval of land applications between the department headquarters and the divisional offices can be done without physical documents.

Agro industries, a ‘money machine’ for rural folks

KUALA LUMPUR: With only RM50, Ahmat Termizi Dollah Kusni of Kampung Bukit Bangkong, Sepang has managed to become a millionaire in the tapioca chips industry.Despite stumbling along the way for three times in his journey as a businessman, the 50-year-old continued his business foray with patience and perseverance and this had paved the way for him to achieve success.

Ahmat Termizi’s association with the tapioca chips business began in 1986. He started with RM50 capital and a borrowed frying pan. “I have no experience in business and had failed three times, to the extent that I had to work as a lorry driver to make ends meet,” he told Bernama when met at his potato chips mill, Jamirah Food Industries (M) Sdn Bhd located at Jalan Mempelam, Kampung Bukit Bangkong, Sepang in Selangor. His luck turned for the better when Ahmat termizi set up Jamirah Food Industries (M) Sdn in 1996. Ahmat Termizi is the company’s managing director. The company now has three subsidiaries — Jamirah Enterprise, JFI Marketing Sdn Bhd and Gemba Marketing Sdn Bhd.

In 2004, the company received the Good Farming Practices Certificate from the Agriculture Department, and this opened a new page for Ahmat Termizi to expand his tapioca chips business. “After 20 years of hardwork, I finally managed to penetrate the foreign market and now almost 20 per cent of my mill’s production like the tapioca chips go to foreign markets such as in the United Kingdom, Australia, Dubai and Vietnam,” he said. At present Ahmat Termizi employs 20 fulltime workers.

The mill is able to produce 3.0 tonnes of tapioca chips a day. According to Ahmat Termizi, his brand of tapioca chips under the ‘Agro Chips’ label reached RM5 million turnover a year with 80 per cent going to the domestic market and the rest for countries abroad. Another agriculture entrepreneur, Mahathir Talib, is involved in the commercial breeding of goats in Kampung Ulu Melaka, Alor Gajah in Melaka.

For the 35-year-old, agriculture sector can provide handsome earnings if one capitalised on the opportunities provided by the government as there are vast potentials in the livestock breeding sector. “Seeing this potential, I set up MP Livestock at Kampung Ulu Melaka Pindah for the breeding of goats and cattle”, Mahathir said when met at his livestock breeding farm.

The farm measures some 93 metres long and 10 metres wide. Mahathir said he initially had 65 goats, 60 females (does) and five males (bucks) from various breeds like Jamnapari, Boer, Rubian, katjang, Sanean as well as Barbados, Lonte and Malin sheeps. He also collaborated with several suppliers of goat breeds. Mahathir who also supplies fresh mutton now has some 400 goats and able to supply 800 kg of fresh mutton a week. “Price of mutton now is good and I am able to sell the goats at between RM450 and RM1,800 each depending on the weight and breed,” he said.

For another livestock trader, Othman Abu Hassan, 50, from Kampung Panchor, Durian Tunggal in Melaka, despite the tough challenges in livestock breeding he has never given up as he believed hardwork would finally bring the rewards.

Othman started his livestock venture 2004 with RM1,000 capital where he bought four katjang goats and by mid year he bought another 15 for RM3,000. A year later, he started to rear cattle.
He began with four heads of cattle at RM3,200 capital before bringing the count to 51 heads at RM75,000. According to Othman, one of the main challenges in the industry is the livestock disease as it could wipe out a large number of the livestock resulting in huge losses. “To this date, I have 140 heads of cattle and 170 goats,” he said. Othman said he feeds his lifestock with farm feed mixed with oil palm fronds, grass, palm sugar and sago.

In another development, Agriculture and Agro-based Industries Deputy Minister Datuk Rohani Karim said in 2008, Malaysia had to import 103,000 tonnes of beef worth RM883.9 million and 18,000 tonnes of mutton valued at RM188 million. She said Sarawak and Sabah have the potential of becoming the centres for commercial livestock breeding as the World Veterinary Health Organisation had declared Borneo free of the food and mouth disease. “So far the nation is only able to produce 25 percent of its demand for meat despite having the potential to produce more,” she said.

Rohani said the Ministry of Agriculture and Agro-based Industries would discuss with the state government for Batang Lupar to be made a Permanent Food Production Park. She said the agro-based industries have great potential in boosting the income of those in the rural areas. Rohani has hope that the establishment of the Agriculture Development Council for parliamentary constituencies would further boost the sector in this country. — Bernama

Sarawak natives turn to smart farming

KUCHING: Smart Farming on Native Customary Rights (NCR) land is slowly gaining interest among Sarawakians.About 3,000 people, mostly natives, have attended courses on the farming method organised by DLT Institute over the past two years.

The institute’s founder Dr Elli Luhat said some of them had started practising it on a small scale.
He said the institute, through its DLT Plantation Sdn Bhd subsidiary had taken the lead in smart farming with a pilot project here. Recently, DLT Plantation signed a joint venture agreement with Kuala Lumpur-based Ruebbn Enterprise.

“Smart farming is a subject of today. Since its introduction, we have received enquiries even from businessmen overseas,” he said. He said that Ruebbn Enterprise was the investor while DLT Plantation provided the land and managed the project. Elli said that DLT Institute was willing to work with NCR landowners in joint ventures under a profit-sharing concept. He said that smart farming was a modern farming method that worked on the elements of nature, economics and social balance.

This method came about after he did eight years of research and development on various crops, he added. “I focus on two crops and an aquaculture activity that can generate high returns,” he said. He said that jatropha and gaharu were two crops worth venturing into. Jatropha was the crop of the next century as it was a substitute to fossil fuel while gaharu had been dubbed as green gold, he added.

A 4ha jatropha farm can generate RM3,000 a month after two years while 0.4ha of gaharu can generate income of RM1.8mil after seven years. To maximise land use, he recommended the rearing of the empurau fish (Bornean Masheer), which had been dubbed as a prized table fish due to its excellent taste. A kg of empurau costs between RM400 and RM450.

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2010

Let welcome 2010 with good health, prosperity, wealth, love, happiness, success and everything that you wanted and didn't get in 2009. Live to love each other for friends and relatives.

Surround yourself with generosity, criticises less, contribute more and work the talk.Love those that matters most in your life. Put God ahead of everything you do as only Him can give the rewards that we all desire the most.

Happy New Year 2010. May this new year brings you good health, lots of happiness and success in all your undertaking.

"We are all given a choice each day. We can react negatively to the demands made us or we can choose to live abundantly, to transform the negative into the meaningful. Attitude is all. If I do endow my life and my work with meaning, no one will ever be able to do it for me."
Sarah Ban Breathnach

Best Wishes

From Adrian

PLANTING VANILLA A NEW VENTURE

Orchid with aromatic flavour By Rintos Mail

LAST year, Malaysia announced it wanted to introduce vanilla as a new commodity in view of the high demand and wide market for this orchid-derived by-product.

QUARANTINE: Vanilla vines quarantined in the Duta Bistari’s net shade. Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, the then Agriculture and Agro Based Industries Minister, said the crop had the agricultural criteria underlined in the Ninth Malaysia Plan, given its high added commercial value and bio-technology potential whose exploitation would need the active involvement of farmers and skilled workers. According to him, research by Malaysian Agriculture Research and Development Institute (Mardi) in 1992 had shown that good quality vanilla beans could be produced in Malaysia. He said the ministry’s effort to introduce vanilla as a new crop was also to prevent Malaysia becoming too dependent on other commodities like rubber and oil palm.
In response, a local company, Duta Bistari Sdn Bhd, recently brought in the most important vanilla species of agricultural value from India. “I got interested during my two-week business trip to Vanuatu last year. They planted the same V planifolia from Mexico. “On my return, I tried to look for investors. Then, about two months ago, Duta Bistari Sdn Bhd agreed to start a nursery before going into downstream business,” said Duta Bistari farm and marketing manager, Tanny Lee.

VALUABLE: The important species from India at Duta Bistari’s net shade.
“Unfortunately, we could not bring in the species from Vanuatu because of transportation problem. But we managed to obtain the same good species from India,” he added.
Now, Duta Bistari has about 10,000 cuttings in its quarantine shade at Tinggian Demak in Petra Jaya. Those interested to plant this most important species and become the company’s contract farmers may contact Lee at 012 8834466. He said the company’s contract farmers would have a bright future as the owner, a prominent local corporate figure, is seriously looking into developing the vanilla industry in Sarawak. Aside from selling the cuttings, he revealed the company would have its own farm near the quarantine shade. “Some will be planted on poles under the built-up shade while some on trees in the nearby secondary forest. We have started some planting at the latter.”

Given that vanilla orchids normally grow in tropical forests, Sarawak has great potential to become a leading producer in the region. Lee said they were introducing a simple method of propagation — cutting without a polyethylene bag. “From what I learned in Vanuatu, the crop is usually grown with stem cuttings. If you can afford, cuttings with 10 to 12 internodes or one metre should be used as they flower sooner than shorter cuttings,” he added. However, Lee pointed out that the length of the cuttings had be adjusted according to the availability of planting materials and area. He said cuttings with fewer than five to six internodes or shorter than 60cm, should be avoided if planted in the open main field. Cuttings with fewer than four internodes — the shortest being recommended — could be used if planted under a tree shade.
Lee encouraged the use of coconut husks mixed with compost for planting. When planting the longer stems, lower two to three internodes to the ground and cover them with coconut husks mixed with compost. He said if there were no coconut husks and compost, the stem should be placed in a shallow trench about three to four cm deep and about 10cm wide. The evacuated soil is used to loosely fill this trench.

According to him, preparing the soil for prospective vanilla plantations must take into account the need to supply each vine with a support or stake for the vine to climb on. The supports can be non-living or living. “Most often used for vanilla are either plants already in the plantation or trees from original forest growth left during land clearance.” Lee said vanilla flourished in partial shade with about 50 per cent sunlight. Low branching trees with rough bark and small leaves are grown for this purpose.

Some of the trees now used include Glyricidia, Erythrina, Jatropha carcas, Plumeria alba and Casuarna equisetifolia. If the support selected is a legume, it will be able to enrich the soil.
Lee explained to facilitate training of the vines around the branching shoots, growth should be adjusted to let the vanilla branch out at a height of 120 to 150cm.He recommended planting vanilla at a spacing of one metre within the row and two metres between the rows to allow for a population of about 2,000 trees per acre.“In high density planting, one metre spacing has been used to plant around 4,000 vines per acre but after five years, pruning and spacing will be required.”

Lee said in the open field, the cuttings should be shaded with tall dry grass, palm fronds or other suitable materials. In dry soil, a light sprinkling of water helps to establish early cuttings.
It takes about four to eight weeks for the cuttings to strike roots and show initial signs of growth.
“Under proper care, the one metre cutting can produce a lot of new branches within a month. Some may even produce flower buds. We have one plant, a metre long, that produces buds about a month after planting,” he added.

Vanilla can also be planted as an inter-crop in coconut, rubber and cocoa plantations. These orchids can be recognised by their typical light green colour. The buds are said to normally open very early in the morning for pollination by bees and hummingbirds although there is no trace of the vanilla essence at this stage.

The flowers which are hermaphroditic (containing both male and female parts divided by a thin membrane to prevent self-pollination) will develop into little pods after being pollinated with each pod containing thousands of small black seeds. The pods are long and thin — very similar to the string beans but smaller in comparison.

Since the flower does not develop into a fruit unless it is pollinated, artificial pollination is needed in places where natural means are not available. It takes the pods about one month to mature and once fully developed, they are harvested and dried. The curing of the pods will produce the aroma so much loved and used throughout the world.

Since the vine has the tendency to grow upwards, every year after harvest, the farmers will push the vine downwards to keep it within hand’s reach. This process is said to increase the flowering capacity of the vanilla orchid which, as a huge vine, often exceeds 100 feet in length.