IMPLEMENTATION OF HIGH-IMPACT COMMUNITY PROJECTS IN SARIKEI AND BA’KELALAN

Sarikei & Ba’kelalan, February 2026 – The School of Mechanical Engineering (PPK Mekanik), Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), conducted a follow-up visit to strengthen the implementation of the Community Development through Innovation and Technology Project (YP KIT 2024) organized by Yayasan PETRONAS in Sarikei, Sarawak, while also expanding the community coffee development initiative to the highland area of Ba’kelalan.

In Sarikei, this second visit was led by Ir. Dr. Abdul Haadi bin Abdul Manap together with the USM technical team as a continuation of the development of a high-capacity Liberica coffee processing system at Rumah Panjang Mary Suna. The visit focused on monitoring the progress of the installation of key machinery, the integration of a smart drying system, and the initial testing of an Internet of Things (IoT)-based monitoring system to ensure smooth operations and to meet the needs of the local community.

At the same time, the USM team also conducted a working visit to Ba’kelalan for the implementation of a new community coffee processing project funded by the Bumiputera Agenda Steering Unit (TERAJU). The project focuses on developing a coffee processing and drying system tailored to the highland environment and the production capacity of local smallholders.

During the visit to Ba’kelalan, the technical team visited the coffee farms of project participants in Kampung Buduk Bui and Kampung Buduk Nur to assess crop conditions, farm management practices, and potential harvest yields. Discussion sessions with project participants and community representatives were also held to identify operational challenges, assess production readiness, and determine the most suitable technologies to be integrated into the proposed processing facility. These farm-level assessments are crucial to ensure that the system design aligns with real production conditions in the field and can operate sustainably in the long term.

The expansion of the project to Ba’kelalan demonstrates that the community-based technology development model led by USM is both relevant and high-impact. This initiative is expected to strengthen the local coffee industry value chain, increase the income of rural communities, and support the agenda of economic empowerment through innovation and technology transfer.