KUCHING: Sarawak is intensifying efforts to strengthen its rice industry through structured talent development, targeting youth participation to build a skilled, future-ready agricultural workforce statewide.
The initiative is led by the Sarawak Ministry of Food Industry, Commodities and Regional Development (M-FICORD) in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, Innovation and Talent Development (MEITD) Sarawak Skills and Muda Agricultural Development Authority (MADA), through targeted engagement sessions.
“This programme is designed to produce competent supervisors and modern rice entrepreneurs who can effectively adopt new technologies across rice production operations,” said MADA Rice Training Centre (MRTC) Manager, Mohd Huzaifi Kamaruddin.
He said human capital development remained a critical pillar in ensuring long-term sustainability, productivity and competitiveness of the national and Sarawak rice industry.
“The Rice Production Operations Supervision Programme aims to encourage youth involvement while strengthening technical capabilities along the entire rice production value chain in Sarawak.
“Under the initiative, 25 local youth has been selected for a fully sponsored training programme at the MADA Rice Training Centre beginning January 2026.
“Participants will undergo intensive modules covering rice cultivation technology, farm operations management, agricultural mechanisation, and industry best practices aligned with current agricultural demands,” he said.
The engagement sessions also featured briefing talks, question-and-answer segments and open interviews to assess candidates’ interest, readiness and commitment to agricultural careers.
The programme received an overwhelmingly positive response, particularly from youth in Padawan and Sri Aman, reflecting growing interest in modern, technology-driven agriculture.
The first engagement session was held on December 1, 2025, at the Puncak Borneo Community Service Centre, attracting strong participation from surrounding communities.
A second session followed on December 3, 2025, at the Lingga Multipurpose Hall in Sri Aman, further expanding outreach to potential participants.
Head of M-FICORD’s Smallholder and Commercial Rice Growers Unit, Syed Ismail Wan Drahman, expressed hope more youth would venture into rice cultivation.
“Youth participation is crucial to producing skilled personnel and future project managers capable of driving Sarawak’s rice sector development sustainably,” he said.
“To strengthen cooperation, M-FICORD and MADA conducted official visits to Sarawak Skills Headquarters and Sarawak Skills Sri Aman recently.
“The visits aimed to review training facilities, discuss long-term collaboration opportunities and ensure stronger alignment for effective implementation of agricultural training programmes,”he said.
Registration for the programme remains open until January 10, 2026, with interested youth advised to contact the Sustainable Engagement Unit in Kuching or Sri Aman.
