SMEs told not to wait, enlist DAA's assistance

Local small and medium enterprises (SMEs) interested in developing products in the food sector have been encouraged to enlist the help of the Department of Agriculture and Agrifood (DAA) instead of waiting for the department's Food Processing Incubators to be completed, a senior official said.

Hjh Normah Suria Hayati PJDSM DSU Dr Hj Mohd Jamil Al-Sufri, director of the DAA, said while the first phase of the Food Processing Incubators has taken off, the department has set up temporary incubators to help SMEs establish themselves and develop their products.

The Food Processing Incubators, located in Kilanas, are expected to be completed in six months.

"(The temporary incubators) will be the prototypes... We will be enhancing those so we don't have to wait nine months and a year after that for SMEs to make use of the incubator programme. It will happen very fast," said Jim Jessamine, senior consultant of SQW China Ltd, a consultancy that has been enlisted to help the department with logistics and research for the development of the incubators.

Phase 1 of the project will require SQW China to come up with a detailed master plan of the project.

"Phase 1 is just about making the mould, and we are exploring and we don't want to limit ourselves to what we know, so (SQW) will explore the incubators here, and we want to develop a concept and follow through," said Hjh Normah.

She added that the incubators will form the basis of what an incubator system should have, so that in the mean time SMEs will be able to get the assistance they need.

SQW China will also be working closely with the University of Lincoln from the United Kingdom for the project, which runs a national food technology centre.

"With this partnership, we are talking about being at the cutting edge of food technology. We're talking about a state of the art food centre," said Jessamine.

At the moment the department and SQW China Ltd are still deciding on a permanent site to place the incubators.

"When we pick the location, we will do it based on commercial reasons, and the thinking behind the entire logistic chain. We will definitely be busy in the next nine months," said Gary ho, managing director of SQW China.

When asked on the possibility of placing the incubators in the Brunei Agro Technology Park, Hjh Normah said it is something that the department would also like SQW China to consider.

"As the government, we could say we want it here, or there, but we may not be right, that is why SQW is here to see whether the Agro-tech park is the place to put them," she said.

Jessamine dispelled the mentality that only SMEs can occupy the incubators. It can be anything "from a start up to a multinational", he said.

"They could be established companies, that are looking to develop new types of products, but not having the expertise to do that, and Nestle work with international food centre and even some of the biggest companies in Europe occupy incubators."

"We will have the temporary incubator, but this upcoming study is to produce the correct facilities, food safety, and food quality, so when we engage (SQW) we're not only looking at the local market. After the recommendation, we will follow through and see what needs to be done," said Hjh Normah, adding that it is also a possibility to start some of the facilities parallel to their study.

But "it would be best to have the study completed so that mistakes are minimised", she said.

The Brunei Times