First harvest of rice trial plantations begins

THE first harvest of several rice varieties imported from China began yesterday at the Lot Sengkuang paddy plantation in Labi, Belait, with the Minister of Industry and Primary Resources and the Chinese Ambassador to Brunei officiating the beginning of the harvest.

The rice varieties undergoing field trials were imported under a joint venture between local company Wen Zhong Agro-Science and Technology and Guangxi Wangwangda Farmers Co Ltd from China.

Minister of Industry and Primary Resources Pehin Orang Kaya Seri Utama Dato Seri Setia Hj Yahya Begawan Mudim Dato Paduka Hj Bakar and Chinese Ambassador to Brunei Tong Xiaoling officially declared the harvest under way with a ceremony witnessed by Belait District Officer Hj Jamain Momin and other senior officers from the District Office and the Ministry of Industry and Primary Resources.

Also present were officials from the joint-venture companies in China and Brunei.

The pilot project aims to help Brunei increase its food self-sufficiency by boosting its domestic production of rice to 30 per cent of the national aggregate demand by 2015.

The pilot plantation is being done for research purposes and is expected to result in two crops covering 700 hectares being planted under the management of Wen Zhong Agro-Science and Technology.

In October 2009, the minister headed a delegation to Yulin city in Guangxi, China, where he visited Guangxi rice-planting bases. The visit resulted in the cooperation between the two countries in rice planting.

The pilot project involves the introduction of four rice varieties from China to determine the feasibility of large-scale planting, depending on the growing conditions of the varieties, production output and other factors.

According to experts within the industry, current varieties of rice planted in Brunei can be harvested only once a year due to acidic soil, insects, pests, climate and other factors and can yield a maximum of only two to three tonnes per hectare.

The plantation project is a very-high yield variety, with an output of six to eight tonnes per hectare and two harvests per year, said the experts.

If successful, the rice varieties will greatly increase the quantity of rice produced.

It will also raise the income of farmers, and possibly result in Brunei's rice industry being upgraded to an investment industry with promising, long-term development. The Brunei Times