Biodiversity in Malaysian agriculture

Prof Ooi explaining the sustainability of IPM

The Centre for Foundation Studies (CFS) of Kampar Campus successfully organised a talk by UTAR Faculty of Science Lecturer-cum-Tan Sri Dato' Philip Kuok Professorial Chair in Agricultural Science Prof Dr Ooi Aun Chuan drawn from his valuable experiences and extensive knowledge in the fields of biodiversity and agricultural science. The talk was held on 26 October 2016 at Kampar Campus.

His two-hour talk was part of CFS’s educational talk series and was aimed to enlighten students and staff on the importance of biodiversity in Malaysian agriculture, as well as the use of integrated pest management (IPM). Also attending the talk were CFS Kampar Campus Director Tan Lee Siew, CFS Kampar Campus Deputy Director for Academic Lee Chee Heong, CFS Kampar Campus Deputy Director for Student Affairs and Development Lim Jit Theam, the Head of Departments of CFS Kampar Campus and UTAR CFS lecturers. The talk also saw the active participation of staff and students from other faculties.

The talk titled “The Importance of Biodiversity in Malaysian Agriculture” gave the audience a better understanding of the state of biology and agrobiodiversity, and how agrobiodiversity has been applied to IPM in Malaysia. Prof Ooi defined agrobiodiversity as a vital subset of biodiversity that covers crop diversity resulting from natural selection processes and the careful selection and development of farmers, herders and fishers over millennia. Meanwhile, IPM was defined as an ecosystem-based strategy that focuses on long-term prevention of pests and their damage through a combination of techniques such as biological control, habitat manipulation, modification of cultural practices, and use of resistant varieties.

Apart from that, Prof Ooi also stressed on the importance of more ecological studies in order to understand nature and how native pests are kept in check by their natural enemies. The talk explained pest outbreaks, especially insect pests, which challenge the sustainability and profitability of agricultural endeavours. Prof Ooi shared his knowledge gained from working with oil palm, coconut, rice, vegetables and cocoa.

The talk ended with an interactive Q&A session, followed by a souvenir presentation to Prof Ooi by Tan as a token of CFS’s appreciation.

Tan said, “The talk series aim to give our students the opportunity to enhance their interests, skills and abilities, furthering their education and better fulfilling market needs. We hope that the talk series expose students to a wide breadth and depth of knowledge and for them to benefit from the experiences shared by our distinguished speakers.”

She added, “In today’s context, the students were able to get insights on integrated pest management and natural pest control, which enable farmers to produce agricultural products of better quality and to mitigate the negative consequences of reliance on chemical insecticides. These help the students to relate their studies to the current developments and challenges in the agriculture field and related industries, and inculcate in them the right values and attitude toward studies and work in future.”

She also said, “The participation rate for the talks is encouraging and we are happy to know that students are keen to explore and broaden their knowledge for their future benefit. We hope to see more and more students attending the talks and equipping themselves with the knowledge and positive attitude needed to cope with the changes in their environment.”

Tan presenting a token of appreciation to Prof Ooi