Sarawak wants to be self-sufficient in rice

http://www.thesundaily.my/news/189368

Posted on 27 October 2011 - 01:03am

Sulok Tawie
newsdesk@thesundaily.com

KUCHING (Oct 26, 2011): Sarawak, with its vast land suitable for large scale padi cultivation, wants to be self-sufficient in rice.

Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Alfred Jabu Numpang said striving towards self-sufficiency is for security reasons.

"The unpredictable weather pattern caused by global warming which disrupts rice production in major rice-producing countries such as Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand makes it crucial for us to strive for rice self-sufficiency," he said at the rice conference here today.

Jabu, who is also State Minister of Modernisation of Agrilculture, said the state needed to produce at least 65% of its rice consumption to reach the level of self-sufficiency.

Curently, Sarawak produces less than 50% of its rice needs while the shortfalls come from rice imported from Vietnam , Thailand and India.

Jabu said there were more than 100 varieties of rice grown and sold in the state, the most being the Bario, Biris, Bajong, Bali, Mamut, Selasih, Katek Merah, Lemak and Kenawit.

He said Bario rice, Sarawak Beras Bajong and Sarawak Beras Biris had been granted the Geographical Indications (GI) by the Malaysian Intellectual Property Organisation (MyIPO).

Bario rice is a unique fine grain rice with smooth glossy texture grown in the cool mountains of the Kelabit highlands while Beras Biris, a fragrant rice with a smooth and glossy texture is cultivated in Simunjan and Samarahan areas and Beras Bajong, an aromatic purple rice with distinctive taste and texture, is mainly planted by traditional paddy farmers in Lubok Nibong, Saratok.

The GI protection will provide entrepreneurs and consumers the assurance of authenticity and consistent product quality.

Jabu urged the various relevant agencies to get at least three more rice varieties to obtain the GI within the next three years.

Trekforce completes conservation project

http://www.theborneopost.com/2011/07/02/trekforce-completes-conservation-project/


by Cecelia B. Sman. Posted on July 2, 2011, Saturday

TOP OF THE WORLD: (from right) Osborne, Rian and Alan at the sunmit of Mount Murud.

MIRI: Trekforce, a UK based environmental conservation and community development volunteer organisation – recently completed a major conservation project in Bario, Pa’ Umor and Pa’ Main in the Kelabit highlands.

Their effort reinforced research conducted by other agencies in the documentation and preservation of unique cultural heritage around the areas.

Their focus on these three places is because they are generally believed to have the most number of culture sites not only in the state but probably in the country as well.

Among the agencies and institutions involved in similar initiatives in the past are Sarawak Museum, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas), International Tropical Timber Organisations (ITT0) and researchers such as Sarah Hitchner and a Pa’ Umor native Professor Poline Balang of Unimas.

Expedition leader and country co-ordinator David Osborne, 30, (known locally as ‘Os’) along with Al Davies, 31 (an English jungle survival expert) and Rian John Pasan, 40, (a Kelabit guide and expedition leader) had so far ran six successful expeditions in the highlands since 2009.

Their project this time around involved 51 self-funded volunteers from the UK, Europe, Canada and the US, aged between 18 and 30 years. They are mostly students who had just completed their secondary school education before entering university or college.

Osborne said the three key aims of the expeditions were to (a) help protect and conserve tropical rainforest ecosystems, (b) help local people with vital community development projects in remote rural areas and (c) help the volunteers learn vital life skills such as team-work, initiatives and self-sufficiency during the physically and mentally-demanding two-month expedition.

Thus far 105 cultural sites in Bario, Pa’ Umor and Pa’ Main have been cleared and protected.
“Once the cultural sites in these areas are marked and boundaries cut, the next phase of this long-term project will begin.

“This involves the development of a network of trails, bridges and shelters to provide an infrastructure framework for sustainable ecotourism and the research of the cultural sites,” Os told The Borneo Post yesterday.

He said the boundaries highlighted these areas as protected in order to prevent encroachment by logging operators.

Trekforce had also created a network of jungle trails stretching for miles throughout the primary and secondary rainforests (connecting to existing trails with many of the cultural sites), numerous bridges across difficult river passes and two major camp sites – Hornbill and Silverleaf.

Osborne said Trekforce would work closely with the Rurum Kelabit Sarawak Association (RKS) and Poline to document the project, and at the same time apply to the government to gazette the cultural heritage site as most were outside the community reserve.

“The benefits of this project are myriad. The protection and preservation of the Kelabit cultural sites will allow future generations to visit the fascinating sites, as well as allowing further anthropological and scientific research into their nature and origins.”

The Trekforce volunteers, apart from working on the cultural site and rainforest protection project, had also worked closely with RKS and the community of Pa’ Umor to carry out a wide range of community development projects such as teaching English and other subjects at SK Bario and Pa’Dalih.

So far, Trekforce groups have twice trekked from Bario to the summit of the famous Batu Lawi (2,050 m); trekked from Bario to Long Lellang and conquered Sarawak’s highest peak Mount Murud (2,424m) on an epic eight-day trek.

Trekforce is already planning two expeditions for next year, as well as running a ‘Trainee Expedition Leader’ course and UK school biology trip.

“There is a great deal more that can be done both on this project and by spreading our expeditions into new areas” said Osborne as he contemplates returning for a further year in Sarawak to reinforce the existing network of jungle trails connecting with the cultural sites. The new proposed areas for conservation are in Long Lellang and Pa’ Dalih.

PROUD MOMENT: Osborne (right) and his volunteers proudly present their camp which was built to complement efforts of conserving and protecting cultural sites in the Kelabit highlands.


CULTURAL BURIAL SITE: Osborne inspecting an imported jar used as a coffin by the native in the Kelabit highlands.

Sarawak products for the world

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/8/24/sarawak/6904427&sec=sarawak

Tuesday August 24, 2010

Sarawak products for the world

Story and photos by ZORA CHAN
zora@thestar.com.my


SARAWAK Biodiversity Centre’s (SBC) traditional knowledge documentation programme has come a long way from plant sample collection and recording to bio-prospecting for the production of household items, including drugs and antibiotics.

While the production of drugs, essential oils and household needs from herbs in Sarawak is at its infancy, initial research is showing positive results.

SBC senior research officer Dr Yeo Tiong Chia said that one promising compound was silvestrol, which had good anti-cancer properties as shown in animal studies.

“Lately, there has been interest from Ohio State University and National Cancer Institute of the United States to test this compound against leukaemia,” he said.

It had moved from lab tests to animal studies and then to pre-clinical and clinical processes, he told StarMetro recently.

Dr Yeo said that SBC, in collaboration with an Australian biotech company, discovered and patented the compound in 2004, and the state government was managing the patent through the centre.

“The compound comes from the rukang tree found in Ba’Kelalan in the northern highlands of Sarawak,” he said.

He said the Lun Bawang community in Ba’Kelalan claimed the bark of the tree could cure stomach pain.

SBC chief operating officer Dr Rita Manurung said the production of household items from plants was a short-term result of bio-prospecting and the development of drugs and antibiotics was a long-term goal.

It often took more than 10 years before any medicine could be put on the shelf, she said.

The centre’s traditional knowledge documentation programme was the starting point for research and development in herbs and product development, she added.

The programme started in 2001 to conserve the traditional knowledge of indigenous groups in Sarawak and encourage the communities to cultivate useful indigenous plants for their own use and later for commercial purposes, she said.

“The centre, in collaboration with the people, has documented 3,000 plants of 700 species used by 12 communities in the state. All these plants are planted in our herbarium,” she said.

The programme was formulated to ensure the communities that shared their knowledge would benefit socio-economically, she said.

Citing an example, she said that SBC had helped set up a herbarium for the Penan community in Long Iman, Mulu.

This first Penan herb garden in the world was a potential tourist draw to help the community earn tourism ringgit as sustainable income, she added.

“We hope to promote the garden as a tourist attraction because, where else in the world could you find a Penan herb garden,” she said.

Dr Rita said that SBC’s bio-prospecting work came up with many other uses for the plants.

“One plant called pahkak in Bidayuh and tenom in Lun Bawang and Kelabit is used for the relief of backache by these communities,” she said.

Through SBC’s aromatic oil programme, the centre discovered that the plant’s roots and leaves produced a composition of oil that was anti-microbial and equivalent to tea tree oil, she said.

This made pahkak oil a potential ingredient of household and cosmetic products, she said, adding that R&D by the centre and a private firm had come up with products like floor cleaner, disinfectant, soap, insect repellent and shampoo.

“Oil from the engkabang fruit can also be made into soap, lip balm and chocolate,” she said.

She said the local rice species was high in anti-oxidant properties and could be an ingredient in healthcare or cosmetic products.

Dr Rita hoped that local entrepreneurs would be interested in developing and commercialising these prototype products.

“Sarawak is very rich in biodiversity and there is much potential in just the plants alone,” she said.

The centre was pleased that its programme had become a model for others in Asia and a source of excellence in documenting traditional knowledge in the region, she said.

People from as far as Bhutan, Nepal, Pakistan and India had taken part in SBC workshops to learn the documentation methods, she added.

Why the need to protect intellectual property?

http://tribune.my/prime/541-why-the-need-to-protect-intellectual-property.html

Why the need to protect intellectual property?

Thursday, 01 July 2010 08:05

Abg Salfian

KUCHING: Greater awareness on the importance of registering one’s intellectual property is beneficial in the long run as it would foster a culture of respecting intellectual property, and would also stimulate creativity, creativity and innovation.

Assistant Minister of Planning and Resource management, Haji Mohd Noraden Haji Majais, said this when opening a one-day course on ‘Intellectual Property Awareness’ here yesterday.

“I am very optimistic that through this course, the participants’ knowledge on the importance of protecting intellectual property will be enhanced.

“According to research conducted worldwide by intellectual property organisations, small- and medium-scale entrepreneurs had been identified as the parties that had not fully exploited the benefits of intellectual property protection.

“These entrepreneurs are actually exposing themselves to the risk of infringing on intellectual property owned by other parties that could possibly lead to legal implications involving huge fines.” Among the main reasons why the entrepreneurs declined to register their intellectual properties, Naroden said, were their lack of knowledge on the matter and the perception that protecting their intellectual property was too cumbersome, time-consuming and expensive.

“The management of intellectual property should be the main and continuous activity of the owners, as each day, many new brand designs would enter the market which need to be protected.” Naroden said the registration of intellectual property would allow the products to be marketed convincingly with the usage of patents, industrial designs, trademarks or service marks.

“There are four components – geographical indications (GI), traditional knowledge (TK), genetic resources (GR) and traditional cultural expression (TCE) - in the new intellectual property which is less known. They are, however, very important for developing countries such as Malaysia which is rich in mineral resources.” “Sarawak has registered-products as GI such as Sarawak Pepper, Bario Rice, Bajong Biris Rice, and the latest is Dabai,” said Naroden, who also recommended that Tebaloi, Sarawak layer-cakes and many other products that are mainly cultivated or produced only in Sarawak undergo GI registration.

“Registration as a GI is not only important to get a premium in the market but also to protect intellectual property rights of local communities,” said Naroden, adding that intellectual property protection was territorial in nature and the registration should be done in every country where protection was needed.

“Many entrepreneurs, however, do not register the intellectual property of products or services outside the country on grounds that they have no intention to penetrate the international market. This perception should be corrected as many companies which started out as entrepreneurs of small and medium industries are starting to seek international market.” Noraden, later, revealed that the number of applications filed as intellectual property or intellectual property corporation registered in MyIPO had increased every year, indicating that more entrepreneurs were starting to realise the importance of registering their intellectual property.

The one-day course was organised for the first time by Entrepreneur Development Unit (EDU) in the Chief Minister’s Department, and Intellectual Property Corporation of Malaysia (MyIPO). It was held at the auditorium of the state library in Petra Jaya here.

The course attracted 95-participants, comprising entrepreneurs, civil servants, businessmen, students from higher learning institutes, and even some individuals.

Earlier, EDU director Hajah Sutin Selamat in her opening speech said that the objectives of the course were to cultivate awareness and expose the participants on the importance of patenting their inventions, products, and protecting their copyright.

Also present at the opening ceremony was deputy director-general of MyIPO (Industrial Property) Shamsiah Kamaruddin.

Bario rice gets GI certification

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/12/1/nation/5213332&sec=nation

Tuesday December 1, 2009

Bario rice gets GI certification

KUCHING: Sarawak’s Bario rice, grown in the Kelabit Highlands, is now recognised and protected as a brand name unique to the state.

Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Dr George Chan said Bario rice was granted geographical indication (GI) certification by the Intellectual Property Corporation of Malaysia in March.

This meant that the “Bario rice” brand name was protected and could not be used for similar rice planted outside Sarawak, he said.

(GI protection applies to products which originate from specific geographical locations and possess consistent quality, authenticity and reputation.)

With the certification, Dr Chan said Bario rice could be marketed as a niche product grown only in the high altitude and cool, natural environment of the Kelabit Highlands.

“We are also trying to go organic with it. Bario rice can go organic easily because it is naturally farmed with no machinery and very little insecticide or fertiliser,” he told a press conference yesterday.

Dr Chan said several farmers had already started the organic planting of Bario rice with the first harvest expected early next year.