A total of 377 Agriculture Community Outreach Programme (AgriCOP) has been organised involving approximately 35,000 participants.
This was revealed during an interview with the permanent secretary of MANRED with RAKAN Sarawak last year.
The programme aims to reach out to the farming community, by providing the latest information on policies, strategies and programs in the agricultural sector, especially related to new technologies and the government’s areas of focus.
Among the topics emphasized include smart agriculture, multi -crop planting techniques based on crops such as durian, pineapple and coffee, aquaculture and agro -based product development.
AgriCOP is organised for the benefit of the farming community.
For instance, the program which was organised of the farming community at Mambong in October 2020 aimed at exposing them to the latest technology in agriculture through talk, exhibition, and demonstration.
In using technology, the farmers will be adopting smart farming methods.
Smart farming systems reduce waste, improve productivity, and enable management of a greater number of resources through remote sensing.
This is as opposed to traditional farming whey they need to be out in the field, constantly monitoring the land and condition of crops.
For those with large farms, it can become more challenging for farmers to monitor everything everywhere.
This is especially true with micro-farming, where many remote plots of land may be farmed for different crops, and requiring different conditions as well as precise control of soil and water.
Hence, by utilise new technologies it can help increase their revenue and promote their products, thus increase the socioeconomic level of the whole community.
Aside from practicing smart farming to increase productivity and raise income, AgriCOP helps introduced the farming community by showing the participants new skills and knowledge pertaining the latest and profitable crops and products.
This is so that the local community can reap from its benefits by seizing the opportunity to sell it into wider market.
For instance, a Musang King module was introduced to 120 participants during the AgriCOP last year at Rumah Bandi, Sebangkoi, Undop in Sri Aman by focusing on planting and caring for the crop.
Another example of how this program help to introduce ways the farming can diversify their products for wider market is when 50 participants from Kampung Seberang, Sarikei also during last year were taught to process chilli-flavoured pineapple sauce.
The AgriCOP is used as a platform for the participants to learn food processing technology and other useful knowledge.
As Sarikei is known as a ‘pineapple town’ due to its massive pineapple production, the diversification of the area’s local product ensures the community to be economically efficient and profitable as well as socially responsible by generating more job opportunities.
The concept of a sustainable farming system refers to the capacity of agriculture over time to contribute to overall welfare by providing sufficient food and other goods and services in ways that are economically efficient and profitable, socially responsible, while also improving environmental quality. Through the program, it helps the farmers generate more income by diversifying their activities and not only focusing on a single crop or source of income.
