THURSDAY, 27 OCTOBER – The opportunity to conduct field work in agriculture was the driving force for former student of Faculty of Sustainable Agriculture (FPL), Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS), Ahmad Shafiq Ahmad Sabirin to venture into it in a wider field after graduation.

A graduate of 2012 with a Bachelor of Agricultural Science with Honours (Horticulture and Landscape), did not prevent him from trying his luck in planting geronong chilli after returning to Kuching, Sarawak in 2014.

Ahmad Shafiq, who love spicy food, held on to this factor and tried his hands in this field and rented a site at Sandakan Polytechnic by doing chilli fertigation.

“I also distribute the produce to the students at Sandakan Polytechnic as one of my social service,” he said.

Ahmad Shafiq market his geronong chilli sauce with the name ‘Hyefiq’ in 2015 and would be marketed at Mydin and Giant in the near future.

When asked about his plans for 2017, Ahmad Shafiq said he would focus more on the cultivation of geronong chilli at a plot provided by the Sarawak state government.

“At the moment, I still get supplies of geronong chilli from a few farmers who plant it on contract or sharing basis. I believe this could also help increase the income of the villagers,” he added.

Shafiq was one of UMS graduates who made his learning experience at the university as a ‘one stop centre’ to gain knowledge on entrepreneurship.

“Entrepreneurship should be instilled in students while they are still studying at the campus so that they would not rely only on white collar jobs after they graduate,” he concluded. – (fl)

Source: UMS Alumni Centre