Potential RM2b yearly from S’wak swiftlets

Potential RM2b yearly from S’wak swiftlets


Borneo Post
by Churchill Edward
March 16, 2010, Tuesday



LUNDU: Sarawak has the potential to contribute up to RM2 billion to the country’s total yearly production of bird’s nest by 2020.

Malaysia as a whole produced 250 tonnes of bird’s nest (from 50,000 birdhouses) worth RM1 billion in 2008 alone.

Yesterday, Sarawak Economic Development Corporation (SEDC) chairman, Datuk Talib Zulpilip expressed optimism that the country would be able to produce an annual RM5 billion worth of bird’s nests with Sarawak contributing RM2 billion yearly by 2020.

When closing a swiftlet farming and marketing strategy course at Sematan community hall here yesterday, Talib said, “Malaysia, in 2008, produced 250 tonnes of swiftlet bird’s nests worth about RM1 billion which also involved 50,000 birdhouses.”

“It is our (government) hope that by 2020, the country would be able to produce a yearly RM5 billion worth of bird’s nests weighing 500 tonnes involving 100,000 birdhouses. The source of this information came from Federal Minister of Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Datuk Noh Omar,” said Talib who is also State Assistant Minister of Tourism and Heritage.

He said Bumiputera involvement in this industry is still low at less than 10 per cent, according to statistics in 2009.

“With such a scenario, Bumiputera involvement in this industry is still very low and lagging far behind compared with that of the non-Bumiputera sector which controlled about 90 per cent of the total industry. We hope local Bumiputera involvement will be greater after we (SEDC) provide training and courses to encourage their participation,” he stressed.

He said, with yesterday’s one-day course, folks in Sematan could see the potential of this industry and tap the golden opportunities afforded by it. He stressed that the industry is a real income generator.

A kilogramme of bird’s nests depending on its grade, could fetch RM4,500 to RM6,500 in the local market while the price could increase to between RM6,000 and RM12,000 (world market).

The highest the price per kilogramme has gone up is from RM12,000 to RM24,000, Talib said when pointing out that entrepreneurs have nothing to fear when it comes to business returns and turnover.

He said one can browse www.gemsb.voc.com to find out the details on farming and marketing of swiftlet bird’s nests.

However, he said, this industry would require a big capital outlay if one wants to start big and get handsome returns. Talib stressed that he was confident the capital issue could be overcome by engaging the assistance of government agencies.

As far as Bumiputera entrepreneurs are concerned, Talib said he hoped they would expand their businesses in the global arena instead of just being contented with local businesses.

Talib pointed out that rodents are potential pests of bird’s nests and that firecrackers are not only scary but could disturb the mating season of swiftlets.

Recently the Sarawak government had entrusted SEDC to set up a Swiftlet Birds Eco Park, according to a press statement delivered to the media during the closing ceremony.

The Eco Park will be the first of its kind in Sarawak and it is to be located at come from overhauling the university’s teaching activities to make graduates more commercially viable.

“Undergrad curricula will be revamped, in which information technology and sciences will include a component of business, so that from the beginning students think about how to turn technology into money. They will learn how to manage innovation, technology and services.

“It’s not like them doing an MBA per se, but having knowledge on bringing technology to market.”

On this note, UKM had also set up its vehicle Technology Transfer to turn R&D into products and businesses, as well as a Centre for Collaborative Innovation (CCI) together with the US-based Stevens Institute of Technology, both aimed at enhancing human capital development and creating innovations for wealth generation.

Similarly, Universiti Malaya (UM) had been forging direct ties between business and education, according to its vice-chancellor Ghauth Jasmon. He added that there was the need to develop an entrep­reneurial culture in Malay-sia towards capitalising its local skills to the fullest.

“The main challenge is Malaysian academics themselves. The culture is not there, as they are pure academics, and are content with research and teaching. They must be encouraged to be enterprising,” OBG cited Jasmon.

“While the culture may still be lagging somewhat, UM is moving forward by working with a Singaporean company to market and commercialise patents from some of the university’s research. In addition, the university has set up a Centre of Innovation and Commercialisation that facilitates its inventors and academicians to actualise their ideas, concepts and research products for viable commercialisation.”

Moreover, OBG underlined that under the leadership of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, the government had made building this culture a top priority. In this respect, the government was initialising a series of reforms aimed at developing a higher-value and higher-skill economy that was on par with other high-income countries across a range of sectors.

The recent launching of this year’s Innovative Malaysia campaign highlighted this initiative, according to OBG.

In reference to the Prime Minister, OBG mentioned that the country needed intellectual input and the latest technology towards its goal to achieve a new economic model based on knowledge and innovation.

“The government initiative is timely,” said Universiti Putra Malaysia’s (UPM) Innovation and Commercialisation Centre director Mohamed Shariff Mohamed Din, as cited by OBG.

He further stressed on the importance of producing more inventors, especially among the younger generation, to help the nation’s Vision 2020.

“If we do not change now, our country will be left behind in various aspects. Look at developed nations like Japan, Korea, the US and the European countries. They progressed because of innovation. If we are not innovative, we will be left behind.”

Meanwhile, OBG mentioned that as the government would continue its commitment on higher education, rising demands for funds could mean a smaller slice of the budgetary pie for private universities, as acknowledged by Universiti Tenaga Nasional’s (Uniten) vice-chancellor Mashkuri Yaacob.

“Research and development has to play a bigger role as government funds will not continue forever, this needs to become a separate revenue generator.”

As such, Mashkuri revealed that the university was focusing on renewable energy by establishing Unitem R&D, a company to commercialise its research work, notably in areas such as wind, solar and biodiesel.

“The purpose is to be a solutions provider to the industry, so we established the new Energy Policy and Research Institute to focus on renewable energy.

“Malaysia wants to reduce by 40 per cent its carbon emissions and needs a lot of efforts to meet industry needs. This is changing the role of educational institutions.”