KUCHING: The suitability of the land in Pantai Damai constituency for watermelon cultivation could see the area develop into Sarawak’s largest supplier of the fruit.
Deputy Minister in the Premier’s Department (Project Coordinator for Regional Development Agencies, Kuching North City Commission and Islamic Affairs), Datuk Dr Abdul Rahman Junaidi, said the quality of watermelons produced in Kampung Trombol and Kampung Telaga Air showed strong potential for the crop to be further developed commercially and marketed internationally.
He said a similar success story had already been achieved through pineapple cultivation under the Sarawak Gold Pineapple (SG1), which is recognised as one of the highest-quality pineapples produced in Malaysia.
“I believe the same can also be done for watermelons, which are already among the quality fruits grown in the area, but their quality needs to be further improved, particularly in marketing and export durability.
“And considering that the land here is highly suitable for watermelon cultivation, perhaps in the future we can envision Pantai Damai, or areas such as Telaga Air and Kampung Trombol, becoming the largest watermelon suppliers in Sarawak,” he said.
He told this to reporters after officiating the Agricultural Input handover ceremony under the Agricultural Facilitation Fund (AFF) programme for the Pantai Damai Constituency at Dewan Masyarakat, Kampung Telaga Air, here today (May 17).
He added that integrated farming initiatives involving the Department of Agriculture and other research agencies could help increase production and improve fruit quality on a larger scale.
“Many of the farmers here, in fact the majority of those receiving assistance today, are watermelon growers.
“Moving forward, I would like to invite these farmers to discuss efforts to improve the quality of watermelon cultivation, especially with research agencies beginning with the Department of Agriculture and other related agencies,” he added.
This approach, he said, is important to ensure that locally produced watermelons meet international market standards, particularly in terms of durability, taste and health value.
He added that current growers are still cultivating watermelons based on their own capacity, without a standardised specification in terms of size or shape.
However, he said the main priority is to ensure product quality meets export market requirements.
Dr Abdul Rahman said Sarawak is expected to begin exporting cash crops through Bebuling Airport in Betong starting early next year.
“We want to ensure that when these watermelons are exported to countries such as Singapore and Hong Kong, they still taste as fresh as if they were just harvested from the farm,” he added.
On the use of modern agricultural technology, Dr Abdul Rahman said the adoption of Internet of Things (IoT) among farmers in the area is still limited.
However, he added that some young farmers in Rampangi have already begun engaging in high-tech agriculture through programmes at the Sarawak Department of Agriculture’s Rampangi Research Station.
He also said that there is a need to introduce modern agricultural methods, including IoT systems, institutional farming, and AI-driven drone technology, to farmers in Telaga Air and Kampung Trombol to modernise the sector.
