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Tuesday, 04 November 2008

Sarawak to ask Govt for more funds


The Star, 29 Oct. 2008

 

KUCHING: Sarawak will seek more federal funds instead of asking for an increase in oil royalty for development.

 

Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Dr George Chan said Sarawak still lagged behind the other states, especially in infrastructure, and needed to catch up.

 

We want to be at the same level as the other states« TAN SRI DR GEORGE CHAN

 

However, he said that getting the needed funds through an increase in the oil royalty would be a complicated matter as the other oil-producing states of Sabah and Terengganu would also want a similar increase.

 

“The easier thing would be to get more development funds as we want to be at the same level as the other states,” he told reporters after opening the Organic Asia regional conference at the Sarawak Cultural Village yesterday.

 

Sarawak receives a 5% oil royalty from the Federal Government.

 

In his speech, Dr Chan said organic farming was an important way of developing sustainable agriculture in the state.

 

He said high fuel prices had resulted in higher cost for fertilisers and chemicals, causing hardship to farmers who depended on them.

 

“Organic farmers, I believe, are much less affected by this. This is an obvious advantage of organic farming, apart from its environmental, health and sustainability advantages,” he said, adding that the state had an organic farming certification programme with a number of farms having registered to be certified.

 

“Currently at least one farm in Sarawak has been awarded the accreditation,” he said.

 

The four-day conference was organised by the Sarawak Development Institute with the Modernisation of Agriculture Ministry, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Develop-ment (Unctad), the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements and the International Task Force on Harmonisation and Equivalence in Organic Agricul-ture.
 
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Newsflash

Good reasons to be self-sufficient

The Star Says, Sunday, 2 December 2007

 

MALAYSIA is on course to become a major food exporter in South-East Asia from 2010, says the Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Ministry. Plans are already in the pipeline to “grow” towards this objective. 

Currently, up to nearly a third of foodstuffs consumed by Malaysians is still imported. This amounts to some RM14bil a year, covering the entire range of diets including meat, rice and vegetables. 

 

However, the reasons for becoming fully self-sufficient in food are more than just economic. They are also strategic and commonsensical, such as to avoid difficulties and hardship arising from international conflict, disruptions in shipments or fluctuating currency exchange rates.

 
Read more...
 

Organic Facts

13 of 20 Good Reasons To Buy Organic 

 

Avoid GMOs. Independent testing of the long-term health effects of GMO foods
on humans has not been carried out. The many exemptions from GE labelling laws in
Australia makes it impossible to know which grocery items use GMO-derived ingredients.
Certified organic foods are a great way to avoid GMOs.

 

Source: BFA