During the Brooke era, Japanese Nissa Shokai Estate started on an intensive, irrigated paddy cultivation at upper Samarahan in 1935. The Brooke government also made reservations for plots of land exclusively for paddy cultivation for example at Tanjong Beluku at Simunjan where 100 paddy lots were laid out. Much of his work focused on constructing paddy demonstration and test plots in Kanowit, and the control the water drainage of paddy plots in Lundu, Simanggang, and Miri before the World War II. Instead of constructing major irrigation works, he suggested controlled drainage of existing paddy fields. Newman opined that second (today Simanggang Division) and third division (today Sibu Division) are suitable for bunded paddy plantations with Banjar people's from Kalimantan. Newman from Malayan Agriculture Service to survey the prospects of wet paddy plantations in Sarawak. One of such reasons was due to tendency of the local population to cultivate cash crops that can command a higher price than paddy such as coconut, sago, and rubber. ![]() Despite vast tracts of empty land available for cultivation, total paddy production was insufficient to meet the demand of the local population and rice have to be imported especially in the 1930s. Most of the Dayaks cultivated hill paddy at highland areas. They cultivated swamp paddy at lowland areas. įood production relied entirely on subsistence agriculture by the Malays, Melanaus, and some Dayaks. These products were then exported to Singapore. However, only rubber, sago, pepper and gambier planting were successful. The Brooke government had encouraged the planting of cash crops such as rubber, pepper, gambier, sago, sugar cane, tea, coffee, tobacco, and rice. For example, the Hakka people were involved in gold mining at Bau during the early days of Brooke rule. They became involved in various economic activities such as mining, trading, and cash crop plantations. The Chinese settlers were mainly from Guangdong and Fujian provinces. The Melanaus stayed in Mukah where they produced sago for trade with Brunei Malay traders. The Iban people were engaged in shifting cultivation, while the Bidayuhs, who lived on hills, were engaged in hill padi cultivation. They brought goods such as salt, iron, and clothes to inland areas in exchange for rice and jungle products. The Malays lived near the rivers of Kuching, Samarahan, and Sri Aman, thus allowing them to trade. ĭuring this period, the five main ethnic groups in Sarawak engaged in different economic activities based on their geographical location. However, he opposed opening up the state for western capitalist economies and Chinese immigration. During the era of Charles Vyner Brooke (1917–1946), he continued his predecessor's policy of promoting land cultivation and food self-sufficiency. He also promoted the immigration of Chinese as peasant farmers. ![]() ![]() Charles Brooke introduced a liberal land policy and encouraged the introduction of new cash crops. Agriculture was the main focus of economic development, and international trade of local agricultural produce increased for example the export of sago products to Singapore. Economic development began to progress slowly during the reign of his successor, Charles Brooke, from 1868 to 1917. ![]() The first Rajah of Sarawak, James Brooke, who ruled from 1841 to 1868, did not engage in noticeable commercial or financial activities during his rule. Main trade partners of Sarawak are: Peninsular Malaysia, China, and Japan. These commodities still produce a significant proportion of Sarawak's gross domestic product. It has traditionally heavily depended on natural resource extraction and exports, including oil and gas, timber and palm oil. The economy of Sarawak is the third-largest of the states of Malaysia, making up 9.5% of the Malaysian gross domestic product (GDP) in 2020. All values, unless otherwise stated, are in US dollars.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |