MIRI: Organic vegetables are making their way to the tables of the people here and they are more affordable even to the poor and lower income group.

HEALTHY ALTERNATIVE: Chong shows Lee (left) the organically-grown brinjals at his Kuala Baram farm.

A farm in Kuala Baram is one of those that are serious in growing organic vegetables, which are good for the health and the environment.

Yesterday, Senadin assemblyman Lee Kim Shin visited the farm, which produces its own fertiliser from organic waste. No pesticide is used in one of the farms, which produces between one and three tonnes of eight types of vegetables daily.

Oil palm waste, grass from vegetable beds and the surrounding areas and animal manure are decomposed and processed into organic fertiliser by the farm on rented land from Pelita Holding Sdn Bhd.

Farmer Chong Ngit Siong has utilised half of the 70-acre land, but is targeting to complete the ambitious but capital-intensive project by next year.

“I am driven into organic farming out of necessity as chemical fertiliser and pesticides are too costly,” he said.

The commercial vegetable farming took off in April last year with mechanisation and organic approach as the mainstay of operation. This has proven to be a wise move as it helps to keep prices down, and the use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides at bay.

A bunch of green veggies is sold at RM2, while the smaller bundle in the market is sold at 50sen, making it arguably the cheapest in the state.

An impressed Lee, who is also Assistant Minister of Infrastructure Development and Communication, said this (farming) would have a positive economic effect as the farmer had a ready market in e-Mart, which provided an avenue for hawkers to sell them apart from providing assistance in mechanisation.

Over 10,000 people patronise the shopping complex and the hawker centre at e-Mart daily, a winning combination that is unique to Sarawak.

Achieving the economy of scale and the fertiliser cost insulation has enabled the organic farm to produce affordable leafy vegetables and legumes to the market.

“We are selling the cheapest veggies in the town and helping the hawkers and also the lower income group not to burn a hole in their pockets to buy them,” said Mart Ngu Ting Sii the owner of e-Mart.

Lee praised the collaboration of e-Mart management by providing the hawkers trading places, and providing marketing outlets to farmers in making their vegetables more affordable.

He was impressed with the recycling of waste and turning them into productive use, which ultimately benefited not only the farmers and consumers, but the environment and public health.

“There is a big demand for organic food with the growing population getting more health-conscious and I am happy that farmers in Senadin are producing healthy veggies and fruits,” he said.

The vegetables at e-Mart are a big hit among locals and visitors from neighbouring Brunei.

Meanwhile, Lee urged the authority to improve the condition of the roads to commercial farms in Kuala Baram to support operators in this food production belt.