Dr Rundi (third left) and the Sarawak delegation take a closer look at automations on display.

KUCHING (Oct 29): Japan’s success in agricultural automation and precision farming offers valuable lessons for Sarawak as it accelerates efforts to modernise its agriculture sector under the Post-Covid-19 Development Strategy (PCDS) 2030, said Dato Sri Dr Stephen Rundi Utom.

The State Food Industry, Commodity and Regional Development Minister said Japan’s integrated approach — combining research, engineering and international safety standards — demonstrates how innovation can transform agriculture into a sustainable, data-driven industry.

“Sarawak’s journey toward modern agriculture must be anchored in knowledge, technology and discipline.

“What we learned here underscores the importance of long-term investment — not only in machines, but in research and people,” he said in a statement after leading a technical visit to the Institute of Agricultural Machinery (IAM) under Japan’s National Agriculture and Food Research Organisation (NARO) in Saitama recently.

The visit exposed the Sarawak delegation to Japan’s structured research in agricultural automation, highlighting how technology, safety and precision underpin the country’s transition toward high-performance and environmentally responsible farming.

IAM researchers shared five key research areas supporting Japan’s progress — Intelligent Agricultural Machinery, Automated Farming Systems, System Safety Engineering, Mechanisation Research Collaboration, and Safety Evaluation and Standardisation.

Their projects include the development of small-scale electric farm robots, digital sensing systems for soil and crop analysis, and the adoption of global safety standards such as ISO 17025 and ROPS (Rollover Protective Structure).

These efforts align with Japan’s goal of achieving accident-free and carbon-neutral agriculture through automation and precision data management.

Dr Rundi said the exposure highlighted the importance of building an ecosystem that unites technology, human capacity and sustainability.

“What we saw in Japan demonstrates how precision, data and safety drive agricultural transformation.

“It’s not just about machines — it’s about building an ecosystem that connects innovation, people and long-term sustainability,” he added.

The delegation also learned about Japan’s broader Society 5.0 framework, which integrates science, data and human well-being across sectors such as Agri-Food Business, Smart Production Systems, Agri-Bio Systems and Robust Agricultural Systems — all aimed at enhancing food security, industry competitiveness and environmental conservation through artificial intelligence, biotechnology and robotics.

The delegation later toured the IAM Showroom, which features agricultural machinery developed through IAM’s research and commercialised by Japan’s private sector, as well as the IAM Museum, chronicling Japan’s agricultural mechanisation journey since the 1950s.

Dr Rundi said the visit reaffirmed Sarawak’s commitment to invest in research, development and human capital to strengthen agricultural resilience and sustainability.

Also present were State Deputy Minister for Food Industry, Commodity and Regional Development (Commodity and Regional Development) Datuk Martin Ben and Sarawak Agriculture Department director Dominic Chunggat.