Gilbert (Right) And Some Ginger Taken From His Land.

Tuaran: Not being able to land a job did not deter Bio-industry graduate Gilbert Minsin from deciding to put his knowledge to use on his family land by cultivating vegetables.

Gilbert, 30, a graduate from Universiti Putra Malaysia, Bintulu, Sarawak, said he is now more comfortable working on part of the heritage land, which is 0.81 hectares out of 3.24 hectares. “Upon graduating in mid of 2017, I applied for various jobs including careers related to my field. Maybe luck was not on my side, so I decided to return to the village to become a farmer,” he said.

Soon as he arrived at his hometown in Kg Wassai, Kiulu, he cleared the 0.81 hectares, which was initially forested. “Apart from having to go through the lands of other residents, the location is quite steep and made it difficult for machinery be used for levelling work. “So, I used my own energy to cut down the trees until it was cleared.

Gilbert grows vegetables on his family's land.

 “I started planting various types of vegetables and fruits through modern methods that I learned at university,” he said. They included sweet potatoes, ginger, long beans, kantan flowers, white pepper, lemongrass and many more. Among the fruits were mango, durian, tarap, dragon fruit and avocado.

“Apart from selling to the surrounding residents, I also sell them to wholesales in Tuaran, Ranau, Kota Kinabalu and Papar. “There are also traders who come to the village to buy wholesale or we meet somewhere in the middle of the road to help traders who are far away,” said Gilbert.

He also harvests kelulut honey and adds other crops from time to time according to demand. “This income may not be as much as other entrepreneurs but enough to guarantee my survival and family members,” he said.

Gilbert, who is the eldest of seven siblings, said his family also cultivates huma paddy or better known as hill paddy.

Tarikh Input: 06/01/2022 | Kemaskini: 14/12/2023 | lanz