KUCHING: A private “smart farming” researcher said he has a plan for agriculture that will involve the Penans and help end starvation in their community.
Dr Elli Luhat, who has pioneered smart farming in aquaculture and the cultivation of jatropha and gaharu (agarwood), said he had formulated a farming system suitable for Penans.
Dr Elli said he would forward his proposal to the Agriculture and Agro-based Industries Ministry through Yayasan Ikhlas, a Kuala Lumpur-based welfare organisation.
“To get the Penans involved in farming activities, it is important to consider what they like and are familiar with.
“For example, they are used to collecting gaharu in the jungle, so I think we can incorporate the planting of gaharu in the proposed model,” he said at the signing of a memorandum of cooperation between DLT Institute and Yayasan Ikhlas on a smart farming outreach programme for farmers in Sarawak here yesterday.
Meanwhile, Sarawak Rural Native Women’s Association (Wadesa) president Hellan Empiang has called on the state government and police to provide protection to the Penan rape victims living in isolated settlements.
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