James Kon
The second harvest for the AgroBiz project has increased from 8.5 metric tonne (MT) per hectare in the first harvest to 9.6MT per hectare, thanks to natural measures that stop insects from attacking the crops as well as the use of organic fertiliser and microbes to improve soil fertility.
The second harvest was witnessed at the paddy field of AgroBiz, Institute of Brunei Technical Education (IBTE) Agro-Techology Campus, Kampong Wasan yesterday.
Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports cum guest of honour Major General (Rtd) Dato Paduka Seri Haji Aminuddin Ihsan bin Pehin Orang Kaya Saiful Mulok Dato Seri Paduka Haji Abidin participated in the second paddy harvest.
Acting Director of Technical Education at IBTE Dr Haji Mohd Zamri bin Haji Sabli said, “The AgroBiz project carried out by IBTE and LiveWIRE Brunei was cemented through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on January 23, 2019. The MoU aims to revive the Young Farmer Programme, especially in paddy production. The project also involved the planting of paddy on a 10 hectares land that comes with infrastructure and modern machinery to raise production efficiently.”
“The project involved 10 students in the first cohort and Insya Allah, they will complete their studies by October this year. The students have carried out two seasons of paddy plantation at the AgroBiz field. They were also exposed to the latest technologies in the fields of paddy plantation, farm administration, the use of several high power technologies in the field of plantation, maintenance and harvesting.
“Alhamdulillah, thanks to the guidance and support provided, students have made plans to continue to venture into the field of paddy cultivation. I pray that the students’ plans and efforts will receive support from the authorities,” he said.
In July 2020, the intake for the second cohort was held, with 15 students pursuing the HNTec in Agrotechology programme (rice industry).
Dr Haji Mohd Zamri said, IBTE and LiveWIRE recently held an MoU signing, agreeing to cooperate in providing courses and workshops on entrepreneurship training. The IBTE students will be required to attend Bright Ideas and Business Plan Series workshops.
The involvement of AgroBiz LiveWire in handling the courses is not limited to IBTE students, and is also open to those interested in entrepreneurship.
IBTE is also working with Universiti Teknologi Brunei (UTB) to increase the quality of education in the country, especially with collaborations that involve education, research and development for shared benefits particularly in the agrifood industry. This also provides both parties the opportunity to explore scientific and education cooperation within the field of agriculture and agrifood.
AgroBiz Project “harvested 8.5 metric tonnes per hectare and parts of the harvest were donated to underprivileged families in the country. In implementation of Zakat obligation issuance, Alhamdulillah, we will witness the handing over of Zakat payment for paddy harvested from the first season’s project to Brunei Islamic Religious Council (MUIB) to be distributed to underprivileged individuals,” Dr Haji Mohd Zamri said.
He said the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports (MCYS) through its Youth Development Centre introduced the Young Farmer and Agriculture Exposure Programme to expose youth to academic and practical training and farm management.
It will also help young farmers venturing into the farming and agriculture industry.
Brunei Shell Petroleum Company Sdn Bhd (BSP) In-Country Value Manager and AgroBiz Project Chairperson Hajah Rosita binti Haji Hassan told the Bulletin, “The AgroBiz project faced a few challenges during the second planting cycle. Our paddy crops were attacked by plant hoppers, a major pest in paddy planting. To stop the outbreak spreading to the rest of the field, we had to destroy around one hectare of paddy crops and Alhamdulillah so far the disease is under control.”
“Since the first cycle, AgroBiz has planted thousands of flowers around the field – Tunera, Japanese rose and sunflower which act as natural predators against the insects. We have introduced soil conditioning using organic fertilisers and microbes to improve soil fertility and increased farm surveillance using drones to detect areas with stunted paddy growth. These early interventions are showing benefits. Our best record from Cycle 1 (8.5MT per hectare) was surpassed by today’s harvest of 9.6MT per hectare,” she said.
Major General (Rtd) Dato Paduka Seri Haji Aminuddin Ihsan handed over the Zakat payment for paddy harvested from the first season to MUIB.
He later mingled with the AgroBiz project students before moving on to harvest the second season of the paddy plantation.
The AgroBiz project is supported by the Department of Agriculture and Agrifood under the Ministry of Primary Resources and Tourism, Bank Islam Brunei Darussalam (BIBD), DARe (Darussalam Enterprise), Paddyco, Progresif and Community for Brunei. BSP through LiveWIRE Brunei provided funds to support the AgroBiz Paddy Field Entrepreneur Scheme under IBTE.