Universiti Teknologi Brunei (UTB) under the School of Applied Sciences and Mathematics (SASM) in collaboration with Centre for Research on Agri-Food Science and Technology (CrAFT); and Centre for Innovative Engineering (CIE) co-organised a one-day conference, the Borneo International Conference on Agrotechnology (BICAT) 2022 with the theme ‘Technology for Agriculture 4.0’.
This is in conjunction with the Economy Week of the Brunei Mid-Year Conference and Exhibition (MYCE) 2022 organised by the Ministry of Primary Resources and Tourism (MPRT) of Brunei Darussalam held today at the Main Conference Hall, International Convention Centre (ICC), Berakas and via virtual platform, Zoom.
The Guest of Honour at the event was Yang Berhormat Dato Seri Paduka Dr. Haji Abdul Manaf bin Haji Metussin, Minister of Primary Resources and Tourism of Brunei Darussalam.
The event began with the recitation of Surah Al-Fatihah and Doa Selamat, followed by Welcoming Remarks by UTB Vice-Chancellor, Yang Mulia Professor Dr. Dayang Hajah Zohrah binti Haji Sulaiman.
The event then proceeded with a speech delivered by the Guest of Honour, who later officiated the BICAT 2022, this was followed by a multimedia presentation.
The conference began with two (2) plenary session with esteemed Keynote Speakers led by Professor Dr. Mohamed Hasnain Isa, Assistant Vice-Chancellor (Research), UTB.
The first plenary session was presented by Professor Hidetoshi Nishimura, President of the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia, entitled ‘Digital Pathways for Improving Productivity, Profitability, and Sustainability of Agrifood Systems’.
Professor Heather Bruce, Chair, Department of Agricultural, Food and Nutritional Science, University of Alberta, Canada delivered the second plenary session with the title ‘Enhanced food security through controlled environment agriculture’.
The event continued with a session on Digital Agriculture Eco Nursery Project between Brunei and Japan – a live virtual tour of the project site hosted by Mr. Ikeya Iwao, Director, Asia and Pacific Division, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, Japan.
The third keynote speaker, Dr. Kioumars Ghamkhar, Director of Margot Forde Forage Germplasm Centre, New Zealand, presented at the last plenary session of the conference with the tittle ‘Digital agri-technologies for forage improvement in New Zealand’. The session was also led by Professor Hasnain Isa, Assistant Vice-Chancellor (Research), UTB.
The event was then followed by 21 paper presentations from the conference participants. The sessions were chaired by Dr. Lim Tiong Hoo, Assistant Professor of Faculty of Engineering, Electrical and Electronic Engineering; Dr. Wida Susanty Haji Suhaili, Assistant Professor, School of Computing and Informatics; and Dr. Aida Maryam Haji Basri, Lecturer, School of Applied Sciences and Mathematics, chaired the last session of the paper presentations.
Among the tracks included in the conference were advances in agrotechnology and applications aquaculture engineering; food and beverage processing; halal food safety and processing; and many more, it was presented by local and international researchers from various institutions.
A closing speech by Yang Mulia Professor Dr. Beston Nore, Chair of the Organising Committee, BICAT 2022 was delivered towards the end of the event.
The event concluded with the announcements of Best Paper Awards.
BICAT 2022 is the first conference in agrotechnology organised by UTB under MYCE. It creates a stage for exchanging technology developments in agriculture. The international experts were invited to exchange and share their experiences in recent and future development of technologies for agriculture. Hence, it provides an opportunity for researchers, practitioners, educators to take part, and present as well as discuss their recent innovations and practical challenges encountered in the fields of agrotechnology. Participants will then have a good networking and collaboration opportunity to find solutions for the challenges while attending the conference and sharing the technological needs for future agriculture.
