| Faza Suraj |
A WORKING visit was organised yesterday by the Department of Agriculture and Agrifood to two agricultural sites in the Belait District.
Both locations are owned by private companies which are growing or breeding one-of-a-kind agricultural products.
The visit was led by Dato Paduka Awang Haji Ali bin Haji Apong, Minister of Primary Resources and Tourism.
The first location was at a 0.1-hectare melon farm at Kampong Pandan ‘B’ in Kuala Belait where the minister was greeted by Haji Abdul Shawal bin Yaman, the founder of Maaz Hanan Zulaikha Enterprise.
Haji Abdul Shawal started the farm which is the only one in the Sultanate to grow golden melons seven years ago as a hobby after his retirement from the Department of Electrical Services (DES). He continued with the venture full time since 2015.
Dato Paduka Awang Haji Ali bin Haji Apong, Minister of Primary Resources and Tourism in a group pho-to after the visit at the melon farm. – FAZA SURAJ
“When I saw the potential, I started doing it as a business and thankfully, it has been doing well in the market,” said Haji Abdul Shawal. He said he sells about five tonnes of melons monthly in various places in Brunei.
“However, the demand from consumers is higher than five tonnes so we still need to expand,” he said. Thanks to the support of the Department of Agriculture and Agrifood, his company was given two hectares of ‘KKP’ land at Sungai Petai in Bukit Puan. The farm also plants other types of melons such as honeydew and rockmelon of which the farm produced 11.2 metric tonnes in 2015.
They are sold at all Supa Save branches, Hua Ho Manggis, Giant Hypermarket, all Soon Lee branches, SKH supermarkets, Jaya Hypermart in Gadong, wholesale market in Sengkurong, Tamu Seria and Kuala Belait as well as supplied to 14 Brunei Shell Petroleum (BSP) vessels.
The minister and his delegation then moved on to the second location, a farm which breeds premium crossed bred Dorper sheep – the first in Brunei as well as the island of Borneo.
Brugoat Farming and Trading Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of Soon Lee Farm and Trading Company, operates a 2.1 hectare-site which houses about 642 premium Boer Goats and 833 Dorper Sheep.
The company was founded in 2015 to meet the local demands for goat and sheep meat, said by Phil C L Ong the Operations Manager of Soon Lee Farm and Trading Company.
“We hope to reduce the need for importing quality meat which is costlier as they’re usually flown in the country especially during Korban season,” he said.
Phil said that their facility can only accommodate a maximum of around 3,000 mature goats and sheep – a target they’re aiming to achieve by the end of 2016.
“Currently we have three main sheds which houses a maximum of 500 goats and sheep each and we are planning to build more sheds this year,” he added.
“However as the goat and sheep’s primary diet is grass, we need more land to plant the grass to feed them,” he said.
When asked why the company chose the Dorper Sheep and Boer Goat to breed, he answered that the animals are suitable for controlled breeding as opposed to the open-range method in Australia.
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