LIMBANG, Sept 6: In efforts to ensure that Sarawakian communities are well-equipped to participate in the new digital economy, the first in a series of Randau Digital Sarawak workshops themed “Ke Arah Masyarakat Digital” was held yesterday (Sept 5) in Limbang as part of the state’s initiatives to ensure digital inclusivity across Sarawak.
Organised by Sarawak Multimedia Authority (SMA) in collaboration with Angkatan Zaman Mansang (AZAM) Sarawak, about 100 participants comprising community leaders and members of the Village Development and Security Committees (JKKK) from Limbang Division attended.
The workshop focused on familiarising and educating grassroots leaders on development strategies and trends under the digital economy agenda as well as equipping them with the relevant knowledge and networking to enable them to mobilise their communities to initiate activities that promote and nurture digital economy.
Batu Danau assemblyman Paulus Palu Gumbang was the guest of honour for the randau session on “Peranan pemimpin dalam menggerak masyarakat akar umbi ke arah ekonomi digital” which allowed participants to discuss the future of digital economy in the Limbang division.
“There are many opportunities under digital economy for us to explore, especially in terms of agriculture in Limbang where we are lacking in manpower,” said Paulus, adding that it was difficult to find workers in Limbang, citing cases where farmers or smallholders had been struggling to maintain their farms and collect their produce due to this shortage.
“There are some initiatives where automated irrigation systems have been applied to solve these kinds of problems,” Paulus continued, adding that this kind of automated farming and fertigation could be applied to other crops such as chilli.
He urged participants to also take advantage of free platforms like MyBazar or social media to sell their local products for a wider market reach.
The workshop began with seminars from experts and government representatives Unimas Faculty of Computer Science and Information Technology dean Dr Johari Abdullah and Sarawak Administrative Officer from Kuching District Office Suraijah Zainol as well as sharing sessions from successful industry players like apparel and accessories entrepeneur Neng Kho Razali and agro-based entrepreneur Reman Apon.
The breakout sessions in the afternoon covered four key areas: capacity-building, e-tourism, digital entrepreneurship and agriculture and agro-based ventures.
The sessions were conducted by representatives from Ministry of Tourism, Arts, Culture, Youth and Sports Sarawak (MTACYS), Department of Agriculture Sarawak (DOA), Limbang Resident Office, Kuching District Office, AZAM and local industry players.
The next workshop is scheduled to be held in November for Miri Division.