Fertile land with best rice grains and pineapples now losing its appeal

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/7/9/sarawak/6622920&sec=sarawak

Friday July 9, 2010

Fertile land with best rice grains and pineapples now losing its appeal

Story and photos by YU JI
yuji@thestar.com.my


THE fertile highlands of Bario, about 50 minutes away by plane from Miri, holds tremendous potential for economic growth, yet its output now is below expectations.

On its undulating mountains, located over 1000m above sea level, the area produces one of the world’s most famous rice variant that carries the village’s namesake.

Its pineapple, juicier and sweeter than the better known Sarikei pineapples, is another gem.

But visit supermarkets in the towns and cities of Sarawak, and you would be hard-pressed to find Bario’s agriculture produce.

In fact, for the last two years, Bario’s export of rice has dropped significantly.

This is partly due to weather conditions - two years ago the area suffered droughts and last year from floods - but also due to lack of technical assistance from the government.

There is only one staff in the Agriculture Department in Bario, local farmers told The Star, and he cannot cope with the amount of work.

Worse still, Agriculture Department personnel are transferred out of Bario every three years, thereby, affecting follow-up guidance.

Meanwhile, Padiberas Nasional Bhd (Bernas), a government regulator and distributor of rice, does not even have an office in the area.

It is clear to any visitor that Bario’s agriculture industry has been in decline. The export of Bario rice has fallen because production cannot even meet local consumption.

From the look-out point at Bario’s only secondary school, one can see many abandoned rice fields.

Due to the unfortunate climate in recent years, a large number of youths have migrated from the highlands to more lucrative jobs like on oil rigs.

The situation there is bad enough that aged farmers left behind have begun hiring expensive Indonesian labour from across the border.

Whatever Bario rice that can be found in supermarkets these days - if any at all - are old stocks from years ago. Most stocks are Bario grains mixed with other varieties.

One farmer, Jerome Giak, 48, told The Star that locals have for years pleaded for more government assistance.

“Our problems are threefold,” Jerome said, speaking fluent English, at a food fair last weekend that was organised by locals and UK volunteers.

“First, we need more technical assistance. Our planting techniques now are largely on a trial and error basis. Cultivation output is not at an optimum level.”

He said the Kelabit Highlands soil, while fertile for paddy and pineapples, posed challenges for other agriculture produce.

“We have so much more to offer besides rice,” the farmer said.

“We have Ipa Kayuh, our version of Ajinomoto, which grows wild. We have tried cultivating it, but so far, we have failed. The Ipa Kayuh that we consume and sell is still picked wild.”

The ingredient, made from dried and pounded leaves of creepers, is light and can be easily transported.

A packet of about six table spoons of the pounded leaves sells for RM5.

The commercialisation of more crops, Jerome added, would give farmers another source of income between padi harvests.

Transportation is the second issue holding back the development of the agriculture industry.

For now, there is only one way to export Bario’s products - by air.

A gravel (logging) track is available, but that takes about 15 hours to reach Miri city.

“The muddy tracks are incredibly slippery,” Jerome said.

The irony is that locals with pick-up trucks (the only type of vehicles that can manage the terrain) do pay road taxes.

Local aged farmers have begun hiring Indonesian labour to counter the migration of youths to Sarawak's towns and cities.

At its small airport, aging de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter planes service the area twice daily.

Each flight can carry up to 19 passengers; but more often than not, the available seats are taken up by precious cargo.

Locals rely on MASwing’s Rural Area Services (RAS) for a host of daily needs, including sugar and canned food imported from Miri.

This leads to inflated prices. A 1.5-litre bottle of mineral water costs almost RM10.

“The last problem we face is that youths are moving away because there is not much money to be made,” Jerome said.

“I can hardly make RM200 a month. So why should the youths want to stay here? I almost gave up so many times.”

The population of Bario now is about 1,200. The Kelabit highlanders are gentle, hard working people.

Village elders have always placed great emphasis on education.

Among its famous sons is former MAS chief executive officer Idris Jala, now a Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office, and Sarawak Immigration director Datuk Robert Lian.

Both are highly regarded among locals and are inspiration to students.

A relative of a high-ranking government official, who declined to be named, said, if the government was unable to honour all its infrastructure promises, then locals would just have to help themselves.

The local Village Security and Development Committee has pooled together financial resources from car owners to fill up ditches along the muddy roads.

One of the longhouses has installed its own mini-hydro electricity generator, which has enabled children to study for longer hours.

Meanwhile, among the most enthusiastic supporter of the Kelabits is Lord Medway John Jason Gasthorne-Hardy, the heir apparent to the current and fifth Earl Cranbrook.

“What Bario really suffers from is a lack of awareness, even among Sarawakians,” Jason said last weekend.

“Flight connection is a major problem. Life here resolves around the two services daily,” he said.

It was unfortunate, Jason said, that even for Sarawakians, it cost more and took a longer time to travel to Bario, compared to flying to other tourism destinations in the region.

“Bario is choked with full of potential. It really boils down to having the ability to communicate with the outside world.”