Agricultural Innovation and Technology in Brunei Darussalam

Agricultural activities have been one of our ancestors’ ways of life in sustaining the economy. Brunei Darussalam’s agricultural sectors in both crops and livestock are being managed by local entrepreneurs, some of whom have begun to mechanise their farming operations without simply relying on conventional and labour-intensive methods. With the directive from the Ministry of Primary Resources and Tourism, led by Dato Seri Setia Haji Ali bin Apong, through the Department of Agriculture and Agrifood, the entrepreneurs are now more exposed to advanced farming methods and are beginning to accept new modern technologies, in order to increase productivity and reduce production costs, yet still attaining high yields within a limited space of land provided. Brunei Darussalam’s economy progresses, in terms of the preservation and promotion of wealth, by utilising the latest agricultural technologies. Examples of technologies adapted include fertigation system, hydroponics system, aquaponics system, closed-house ventilated poultry, LED lighting system, greenhouses or protected houses, mechanisation of ploughing and harvesting in paddy, and equipment for agrifood downstream processing. Such technologies are widely used nowadays in Brunei Darussalam, and more societal members are interested in adapting these technologies, even for backyard, or domestic, farming.