Bandar Seri Bagawan - Brunei's agriculture sector has reached specific targets last year compared to the previous year, but many areas have to be further improved upon to continue expanding the industry over the next five years, the acting director of agriculture said.
Brunei has posted an increase of $12 million worth of production in the livestock and fruits industries from January to September, compared to the same period in 2006, said Hjh Normah Suria Hayati PJDSM Dato Seri Utama (Dr) Hj Mohd Jamil Al-Sufri.
"There is a 98 to 100 per cent production increase in these two areas," she said, adding that she is pleased with the progress thus far.
Local production for the livestock and fruits industries was recorded at $109.6 million and $5.7 million respectively, for the whole of last year, according to the department's website.
She told The Brunei Times that the livestock industry has showed a significant increase while rice production is also growing.
Hjh Normah said that the agriculture department will continue to prepare action plans after identifying what areas Brunei can compete for with other exporting countries in the agriculture sector.
The acting director also said that the department has conducted a number of studies on soil analysis in Brunei and is developing a roadmap to improve local products which can be exported.
"We are not ambitious with the plans, but we must move forward by being competitive because it will be difficult to compete if we only think about small local products to diversify the economy," she added.
Site said that studies have shown that local products' packaging has to be improved if it were to be successful, because packaging is vital to creating its own product brand.
The department is looking to export `high value products', including the livestock, vegetable and halal processing industries, she continued.
As part of its strategic plan from 2008 to 2012, the agriculture department will also review its policies and regulations to attract more investments in the sector, said Hjh Normah.
"Some of the incentives are no longer applicable and significant, so we need to review them to ensure that it benefits the farmers," she said, adding that the strategic plan is aligned to meet the Ministry of Industry and Primary Resources' target of achieving $4.5 billion worth of output by 2023.
She noted that the department is hoping to be more transparent with local farmers and strengthen its market information.
'We hope to do more studies to target what the consumer preferences are in export countries and improve relations with stakeholders through dialogue, because it has to be what they want," she explained.
She has also appealed for the support of stakeholders and other government departments because unforeseen problems over the next five years can happen.
Hjh Normah also said prices in agricultural products would depend on the international market.
"Prices are still affordable, but if rising oil prices continue, then prices of raw materials for production will also increase," she noted.
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