Sago, a largely ignored cash crop because of its long gestation period, has been given a new lease of life today with the signing of memoranda of understanding between State-owned CRAUN Research Sdn Bhd and seven research and tertiary institutions.

The institutions are University Putra Malaysia (UPM), Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas), Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM), University Sains Malaysia (USM), Malaysian Agriculture Research and Development Institute (Mardi), Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) and Malaysian Institute for Nuclearn Technolgoy Resarch (MINT).

The memoranda involve research on product development and improvement, agronomic, land and water management, culture tissues and planting materials.

The research is also on the usage of sago trunks and compost.

Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud, speaking before witnessing the signing of the memoranda, said the sago industry had good potential provided efforts were made to improve its products, marketing, promotion and development


"Sago as a cash crop has long been ignored by farmers because its maturity period is between 12 and 15 years," he said.

SWEET SUCCESS: The sago-based perfume gel.

He also said the State Agriculture Department had ignored his request to conduct research to reduce the gestation period of the crop five years ago.

He said the signing of the memoranda should generate interest in the crop among the private sector, researchers and scientists.

Taib said sago was unique because it could grow in peat swamps.

"It will be a great loss if we do not utilise the peat swamps which are abundant in Sarawak," he said.

CRAUN Research chief executive officer Yusup Sobeng said sago was the third most important cash crop of Sarawak, after oil palm and pepper, generating a revenue of about RM37 million last year compared to about RM24 million in 2000.

He said Sarawak produced 50,000 tonnes of sago starch a year, the most in the world, with peninsular Malaysia, Japan, Singapore, Thailand, China and the United States being the main markets.

UPM was represented by its vice-chancellor Professor Dr Mohd Zolhadi Bardaie, Unimas by its vice-chancellor Professor Dr Abdul Rashid Abdullah, USM by its dean of Faculty of Industrial Technology Centre Dr Wan Rosli Wan Daud, UiTM by its vice-chancellor Datuk Seri Professor Ibrahim Abu Shah, Mardi by its director-general Dr Abdul Shukor Abdul Rahman, MPOB by its deputy director-general (1) Dr Mohd Basri Wahid and MINT by its deputy director-general Dr Nahrun Khair Alang Mohd Rashid.