THE recent announcement that Samarahan will have a food processing centre is indeed great news for farmers and all who are involved in the business in Sarawak. This type of centre should have been built long ago in many other food processing areas in the state. The main reason why such food processing centres were not built is lack of roads; without the connecting roads, no investor would put money into huge farms for food processing as most food products are easily perishable.
Even when Tanjong Manis in the Rejang basin was set up with numerous facilities, the number of investors was fewer than expected due to the lack of large food suppliers despite the fact that Sarikei, the closest town to Tanjong Manis, is often referred to as the food basket of Sarawak.
