Brunei fruit production low

BRUNEI'S fruit production is still at a low level and far from being self-sufficient as 77 per cent or 14,322 metric tonnes of total fruits last year, worth approximately $35 million, were imported, said Tutong District Officer, Hj Idris Hj Mohd Ali

Speaking at the launching of Fruit Expo being held at Kg Menengah Primary School field yesterday, Hj Idris stressed that local farmers should continue to strive harder and to "think big and forward" to reach self-sufficiency level which according to him was not an impossible feat.

The expo is organised by the Kg Menengah and Bukit Sulang village Consultative Council, Mosque's Takmir committee and Suburban Farmers Development of Kg Menengah and Bukit Sulang.

In his remarks, the district officer said that during 2005 to 2007 season, approximately 678 metric tonnes of fruits were produced by farms under the Suburban Agricultural Development Farms (communal farms), of which 122 metric tonnes were produced by Kg Menengah and Bukit Sulang.

In view of this, Hj Idris called upon the farmers and villagers to use this achievement as a motivation and a starting point towards the production of more significant volume of local fruits.

Commenting on the expo, the district officer said not only would it provide the fruit farmers with an additional source of income, but also to show Kg Menengah and Bukit Sulang's potential as major producer of local fruits in the future. This is because, he added, the village has a number of vast and productive farms.

Hj Idris expressed his confidence that if individual farms were able to maximise their fruit production, it would have an impact on both local and foreign markets and at the same time to help reduce the country's dependency on imported fruits.

He also hoped that the Department of Agricultural Development could lay out effective strategies such as introducing new methods in fruit planting, assisting and guiding the farmers in spotting opportunities for product marketing, helping in increasing the quality of products through attractive packaging and providing innovative incentives that could increased the revenue of the fruit farms to an outstanding level.

He also lauded efforts by the Village Consultative Council for bringing the villagers together to work on the communal farms in potential areas in the district and urged unemployed youths to involve in the agricultural activities as it provides good returns which could elevate their standard of living. Some 60 farmers participating in the three-day expo. (RSH1