PENANG needs to encourage investment in R&D and talent development in the agricultural sector as well as promote Agriculture 4.0 through the use of digital technologies for suitable modern agriculture.
Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said this during the closing and award ceremony of AgriTech 2022 by ams OSRAM, the global leader in optical solutions.
“While Penang has thrived throughout its journey of industrialisation, other aspects of the economy, such as agriculture, must not be overlooked.
“Agriculture accounts for more than a third of Penang’s total land area but unfortunately, it only contributes about 2% to our GDP. As a result, it is becoming increasingly important for us to raise that figure.
“This is as outlined in the state’s Penang2030 vision of ‘A Family-Focused Green and Smart State that Inspires the Nation’, where one of the strategic initiatives identified is to ‘modernise and diversify sustainable agriculture’.
“This initiative seeks to establish Penang as a high-tech Green Valley by advancing the agriculture value chain, leveraging technology, and encouraging urban farming,” Chow said in his speech.
According to Chow, the state government recently tabled the Penang 2023 Budget, which includes RM6.92 million for the state Agriculture Department, RM2.63 million for a one-off assistance payment of RM500 per person to the state’s 5,262 farmers, and RM4.5 million for the Department of Veterinary Services Penang.
He said the allocations are intended to accelerate the advancement of the agricultural industry in the state.
Chow also thanked ams OSRAM for sponsoring AgriTech 2022 which was participated by four primary schools and four secondary schools.
The students were provided with the opportunity to learn the fundamentals of agriculture and how to use LED technology to grow crops in a customised box over a six-month period.
Chow said he also appreciated the OSRAM volunteers who acted as mentors, the teachers, and the Penang Science Cluster for their support to inspire the youngsters in agriculture, science, technology and innovation.
“This is just the beginning. The seeds have already been planted in you and will grow and nurture over time. One day you will be innovators, scientists, engineers, whether in the field of agriculture or semi-conductor, we welcome you nevertheless,” Chow told the participating students.
Also present were Science Cluster director Datuk Yoon Chon Leong, Penang Science Cluster chief executive officer Datuk Ooi Peng Ee, vice-president and managing director of ams OSRAM Glen Brownlie, OSRAM Malaysia R&D director Dr David Lacey and ams OSRAM Malaysia principal specialist and corporate communications Audrey Cheah.
SMK Datuk Onn Butterworth students and teachers jubilate as they pose with Chow (wearing red tie), Brownlie (fourth from right) and Ooi (beside Brownlie) after being declared the secondary school winner.
Brownlie said the Agritech programme was one part of the company’s overall commitment to teaching and demonstrating how the application of light, the right kind of light, can enhance and improve the growth of crops around the world. This could contribute to a greener, lower, carbon solution for food production.
“If we have managed to spark within just a few of you a desire to learn more; if we have managed to make you inquisitive, then we have been successful.
“I really hope that some of you will pursue a career in science and technology because of what you have learned here,” Brownlie told the students.
He added that the development of the talent pipeline was a challenge that has no single answer and that could not be addressed by one party.
He said it needed the combined efforts of the industry, government, education institutions and the passionate drive of people like Datuk Yoon and Datuk Ooi to continue the work and continue pushing.
For ams OSRAM, Brownlie said as it has been a ‘resident’ of Penang for the past 50 years, the company is committed to this drive to benefit the industry and state as a whole.
Ooi said the AgriTech 2022 programme has been carefully curated to spark students’ interest in such a critical and exciting field by allowing them to personally experience the learning of modern agriculture through highly engaging hands-on experiments.
He said it was also to help them understand the basics and important concepts of grow LEDs.
Ooi cited the Netherlands as an example of being the second largest exporter of agricultural produce after the United States.
“If you go to the Netherlands, you don’t see open farms. You see lots of greenhouses, and inside the greenhouses, you will see technology and innovation at work – vertical farms with grow LEDs, high-yielding seed technology and the use of robotics for harvesting.
“Dutch farms can grow in a single acre what would take 10 acres of traditional dirt farming to achieve.
“Dutch farms use only four litres of water to grow about 1kg of tomatoes, while the global average is more than 220 litres or 55 times more than the Netherlands,” Ooi shared with the attendees.
Ooi thanked ams OSRAM for making a difference in STEM education and making a positive impact on the lives of the young generation.
A competition was organised for the participating primary and secondary schools during AgriTech 2022.
SJKC Chong Cheng emerged as the primary school winner, followed by SJKC Wen Khai, SK Tanjong Bungah and SJKC Mak Mandin while SMK Datuk Oon Butterworth was declared the secondary schools’ winner, followed by Penang Chinese Girls Private High School and St George’s Girls’ School.
At the event, ams OSRAM also handed out two scholarships (RM150,000 each) to Daniel Tan Yuhong (for employees’ children category) and Himmanesh Kalai Selvam (for non-employees’ children category), to study mechanical engineering at Ravensburg Weingarten of Applied Sciences (RWU) in Germany.
Story by K.H. Ong
Pix by Adleena Rahayu Ahmad Radzi
Video by Darwina Mohd Daud