Appetite for life - WALK OF LOVE

DestinationTalk
The food bowl
of Sarawak
Nowhere else in Sarawak is food and
fruit production as important than this
riverine town in the central region of
the vast state. Consider this – Sarikei
is estimated to supply about 60% of
the vegetables produced in the region
alone and is also the main supplier
for fruits, especially pineapple and
oranges. In fact, the town’s emblem
is the pineapple and almost everyone
44 | BorneoTalkOct-Dec2008
here agrees that the best pineapple
comes from Sarikei!
Quiet the town may be but nevertheless
there is much activity daily as trucks
transport vegetables to the surrounding
towns in the vast hinterland area. This
food bowl of Sarawak continues to
be blessed with abundant fertile land
and favourable weather conditions for
the cultivation of food. A number of
innovative and enterprising individuals
have also started to bring visitors to
these fruit farms in the town and the
orchards tour is both fun and fulfilling!
Visitors get to pick their own fruits
and sample these sweet oranges and
other fresh varieties from the trees
and also take it with them when they
pass through the town. These orchards
excursions are becoming popular as the
tourists enjoy a respite from the road
trips and a chance to pluck their own
fruits. Other fruits of significance
include bananas, watermelons, guavas,
dragon fruits and starfruits.
Fresh vegetable production is
nevertheless the main economic lifeline
of many entrepreneurs and farmers
here. The unique setting of Sarikei,
at the central point of many smaller
surrounding towns, makes it the ideal
supplier. Traditional farming has given
way to modern farming methods in
many farms, using a variety of
machinery and techniques to improve
quality and quantity. Assistance from
the agricultural department over the
years has greatly benefited the farmers
in their expansion plans for the
production of selected crops and the
use of better seeds have all contributed
to the continuing importance of
the town for daily fresh vegetables.
Oil palm and pepper are the major
large scale crops here and the labour
intensive nature of these make them
confined mainly to large corporations.
Rubber production continues to be
a popular activity for many small
holders here.
Animal husbandry too has grown
significantly in numbers and variety due
mainly to the continuing demand of an
expanding hinterland area. Chicken and
ducks still dominate many farms but
cattle and goat rearing are also catching
on. Fresh fish cultivation is not a major
activity as most of the surrounding
towns are fishing ports and villages
where supply is usually abundant.
Sarikei will continue to be one of
the main food suppliers in the years
to come for the central region of
Sarawak. Significantly with the coming
of major development plans along the
state’s coastal corridor, the demand for
food will continue to rise in tandem
with such changes.