Call to look into biotech-farming
By Rosli Abidin Yahya

Awang Tinggal attending to his crop. Photo: Norizan Murshid

Local farmers should be more pragmatic and adopt biotechnology since it promises not only higher crop yields but also reduced post-harvest losses, a biotechnology farmer said.

Awang Tinggal bin Pawang who has a 5-acre farmland in Kg Subuk said farmers should take a more pragmatic outlook and not deny themselves the benefits of biotechnology currently enjoyed by their counterparts in 15 other countries such as the United States.

"The American farmers benefit from it, there is no reason why our farmers shouldn't also benefit from it," he said in his experimental biotechnology farm.

He added, in the Brunei context, local farmers can benefit from using biotechnology in three areas - increasing the yield of their harvest, reducing the amount of pesticides used and reducing post-harvest losses as most genetically-modified crops have longer shelf life.

"Almost 50 per cent of vegetable and fruit produce is lost because we don't have the infrastructure for processing, transportation or cold storage. Biotechnology reduces that," he said.

He added local farmers can also save on pesticide expenses and at the same time cut down the estimated 30 per cent to 40 per cent production losses caused by plant diseases thereby increasing yield.

The International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications defines biotechnology as any technique that makes use of organisms to make or modify products, to improve plants or animals, or to develop micro-organisms for specific purposes. One of its tools is genetic engineering, which allows scientists to develop hybrid plant species that can grow bigger, better and faster. This is done by inserting a gene known to control a particular trait, such as increased resistance to pest, into the cells of a plant.

For the farmers, this results in a dramatic increase in production and reduces the amount of chemicals and pesticides that needs to be applied.

In Awang Tinggal's farm, every tree has a water pipe and he planted rambutan, cempedak, pineapples, coconut and umbut luba. He is also experimenting with biotechnology with the guidance and advice of relevant authorities.

Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin