Dennis (right) applauds as Uggah (second right) cuts a ripe pineapple fruit as the Orang Ulu farmers look on.

MIRI:  Farmers are told to think big on agriculture produce so as not to just merely plant crops for sale but to find ways to turn the fruits into marketable products.

Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas gave this advice when meeting Orang Ulu pineapple farmers at Sungai Adong near here recently.

He was impressed with the effort by the local people to plant pineapples for the past 20 years but advised them to turn the pineapples into other products like jam and dried fruit slices to give them another source of income rather than just selling the fruits.

“Think big, pineapples can be made into jam and dried fruits apart from selling the fruits to local markets here,” Douglas told the farmers.

Present were Telang Usan assemblyman Dennis Ngau and the farmers’ spokesperson, Sarah Anyie.

According to Uggah, who is also Minister of Modernisation of Agriculture, Native Land and Regional Development, the pineapple jam and dried pineapple slices can be marketed to other countries where they are in high demand.

Other than that, the pineapple waste can also be used as fodder for cows and goats, he said.

He was happy to note that that the farmers earn between RM6,000 and RM10,000 per month from selling the pineapples to the local markets and Brunei.

On the request by the farmers to be allowed to continue using the state land they presently use, Uggah said he would discuss with the relevant authorities, including Land and Survey Department and Agriculture Department and even forward the request to Chief Minister Datuk Amar Abang Johari Tun Openg.

Dennis, who also spoke to the farmers, said they must think positive and not to expect much from Uggah’s visit.

However, he said Uggah was aware that the land in Ulu Baram is good for agriculture, which was why the government formed the Highland Development Agency which is chaired by Uggah.

“We will develop Ulu Baram and all of us can go back to the kampungs and do farming to generate income while the government will find ways to market our products,” Dennis said, lamenting that presently they lacked markets to sell their agriculture products.

Earlier, Sarah highlighted the request from the Orang Ulu pineapple planters for the government to allow them to continue utilising the state land.

Sarah has about 10 acres of land planted with pineapples for sale to the local market and Brunei.

The area has about 80 Orang Ulu farmers, who were given training by Lembaga Nenas Malaysia.