Flower Festival launched in Tenom

TENOM: Rural Development Minister Datuk Radin Malleh said the upgrading of the Sabah Agriculture Park (TPS) in Lagud Sebrang here as announced by Chief Minister on November 14 last year is proof of the state government’s commitment and determination to make it as a park, a plant conservation and flora learning centre besides making it one of the best agro-tourism destinations in the region.

In this regard, he said the Sabah Agriculture Department should take immediate action on the Chief Minister’s announcement and commitment to upgrade the park.

“With this upgrade, it is expected to increase the number of visitors to the park, which currently receives an average of 24,000 visitors a year,”he said when opening the Flower Festival at Sabah Agriculture Park Lagud Sebrang here on Saturday.

Radin said he appreciated the commitment of the Chief Minister to upgrade the park. The plant conservation programs implemented by the park should also be maintained for future generations to become attraction for researchers and tourists.

According to him, foreign and local researchers coming to see and explore the beauty and joy in this area shows that the park has its unique character and charm of its own.

He said the Flower Festival is one of three annual events organised by the State Agriculture Department to promote the park as one of the major agro-tourism destinations in the country.

The festival this year, he said, lasted for two days from August 15 to 16 and is the 13th time to be organised by the Sabah Agriculture Park.

Radin noted that the development of the park as a destination for agro-tourism has created business opportunities that can provide income to businesses and employment opportunities for the locals here.

The organising of the festival will be able to nurture and nourish the love and beauty of the flora and fauna, thus cultivating healthy and prosperous lifestyle for the people.

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Agrotourism can generate lucrative income to Sabah

KOTA KINABALU: The recently concluded Malaysia International Agriculture, Horticulture and Agro Tourism Exhibition (MAHA) 2012, which recorded 3.2 million visitors, showed that this industry has a huge potential to grow.

Malaysia Productivity Corporation (MPC) director Burhanuddin Saidin said the tourism industry had also contributed to the national productivity growth.

“With the higher number of tourist arrivals, it will also increase domestic consumption, such as accommodation, food and beverage. It recorded a 4.1 per cent increase in 2011.

“Talking about agrotourism, it has a great potential to generate lucrative income to Sabah and continuous effort is being undertaken by the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry to further enhance the state’s agrotourism, which would benefit the tourism sector in general,” he said at the launching of a six-day seminar on Innovative Strategies in Promoting Agrtotourism at Promenade Hotel here yesterday.

He added among the various agrotourism products that have been developed by the ministry through its departments and agencies include the Sabah Agriculture Park, the Tagal System, Weston Wetlands Park, Keningau Livestock Farm and various other agricultural activities like the mushroom industry in Mesilau, goat rearing in Papar and bee farming in Matunggong which have already been developed as part of the agro-tourism packages.

He believed the corporation has managed to change the people’s perception that agriculture is no longer a sector for the poor or uneducated, but open to all with the promise of lucrative profits.

“Therefore, today’s programme is a perfect platform for us in Malaysia to learn and understand how other countries such as Japan, Taiwan, Holland and our neighbour, Thailand, craft their strategies in developing and promoting agro tourism,” he added.

In line with changing expectations for the country to be more innovative and creative, MPC has aligned itself to meet the challenging demands as outlined in the New Economic Model (NEM) and to accelerate the nation’s transformation in areas of productivity and innovation, and support the aspirations of the nation to achieve a high income economy.

MPC’s new direction is reflected in the newly set up of five department models which focus on the drive for higher productivity growth.

The departments are Regulatory Review, Enterprise Innovation, Knowledge Management, Business Excellence and Global Competitiveness. He added that in the Tenth Malaysia Plan 2011 to 2015, MPC is entrusted to review business regulations for competitiveness.

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Sabah planning more agrotourism events next year

A MALAYSIAN International Native Orchid Show and a Garden Landscape Festival have been planned to be held here and at the Sabah Agriculture Park in Tenom, respectively, in October next year, as part of the effort to promote agrotourism.

Assistant Agriculture and Food Industry Minister, Datuk Bobbey Suan, said the two events, which are currently in the planning stages, will further enhance the State's agrotourism development and its trickle effect will benefit the tourism sector in general.

Replying to Gum-Gum Assemblyman Datuk Zakaria Edris during the question-and- answer session, Bobbey said the Ministry is well aware of the agrotourism potential and has made it one of its development priorities to promote and encourage this as part of product diversification.

He said among the various agrotourism products that have been developed by the Ministry through its departments and agencies include Sabah Agriculture Park which was developed by the Agriculture Department, Tagal System developed throughout Sabah under the Fisheries Department, Wetland Agro-Tourism Development at Weston Wetland Park in Weston by Ko-Nelayan, Keningau Livestock Farm by the Department of Veterinary Services and Animal Industries (Dovsai), as well as various other agricultural activities like mushroom industry in Mesilau, goat rearing in Papar and bee farming in Matunggong which have already been developed as part of agro-tourism packages.

Each of these agrotourism products developed by the Ministry offers a variety of activities that can attract tourists, he said, adding Sabah Agriculture Park in Lagud Sebrang, Tenom held three annual events which have already been included in the Sabah Tourism Board calendar, namely the Anniversary Carnival held every March, Flowers Festival every August and Baa...ke Taman kita every December.

For promotional purposes, he said, the park is also actively participating in exhibitions held at the State, national and international levels, like the Harvest Festival, Kalimaran Festival, Farmers, Breeders and Fishermen's Day, Malaysian Agriculture, Horticulture and Agrotourism Exhibition (Maha) in Serdang, Selangor, Sabah International Expo 2012 and Singapore International Orchid Conference 2011.

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Tenom Agricultural Park - Walk in the Park

LAGUD Seberang Agricultural Park in the interior division of Tenom is a must-visit for tourists.

Situated within the Park, which doubles as a research centre, are the Native Orchid Centre, the Living Crop Museum, the Ornamental Garden, the Hoya Garden Evolution Garden, the Agro-forestry area and two lakes – Sapong and Rundum.

One can trek along the trails or spend the whole day, admiring the various species of orchids, both natural and hybrid.

Bringing along a guide will enable visitors to understand and appreciate the wonders of Lagud Seberang.

Our guide during an outing to the Park was Alexius Making who showed us the interesting aspects of the place that would otherwise have escaped our notice.

According to him, the Park is located within 500 acres of the 1,500-acre research station, administered by the Agriculture Department Sabah.

It comprises the Agriculture Research Station, the Seed Production Centre for Cash Crop, the Farmers’ Training Centre and Taman Pertanian Sabah itself.

Former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad officially opened the Park in 2001 although the public were already able to visit it the year before.

There are visitors throughout the year, notably during the fruit season.

“There is an abundance of fruits to choose from,” Alexius said, adding that the Park also had a wide collection of indigenous and introduced plants species – for instance, the native Orchids of Borneo which were rescued from logged out areas in the forests.

According to the Orchid Centre guide Samuel Tion, there are about 300 wild orchids with the most fascinating being the Elephant Ears and the Lady’s Slippers.

Some 3,000 people visit the Centre annually.

Meanwhile, Alexius said within the natural orchid garden, there were many other plants, including those previously grown for food.

The four-acre Hybrid Orchid Garden itself boasts 400 species. The colourful hybrids are a sight to behold but they are only for public display as the cuttings are not for sale.

Our next stop was the Evolution Garden which highlights changes in the heritable traits of a population (flora and fauna) over successive generations.

The mutation of genes over time could have resulted in the evolution of certain species or development of new species from existing ones.

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Preparation for first Tenom Orchid Festival at Sabah Agricultural Park

TENOM: Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen yesterday announced a total of RM300,000 aid to Sabah Agricultural Park (TPS) to organize the first Tenom Orchid Festival next year and to upgrade signboards to identify the plants in the park.

Speaking to reporters during her visit to the park yesterday, Ng said TPS has the potential to be in the world map for having more than 250 native orchids which can only be found in Sabah and Borneo.

“We have the potential here, and we only need to be more focused on the orchids because orchid lovers from throughout the world are looking for something different which they cannot find elsewhere.

“TPS should think of the festival name, and discuss with the ministry to bring local music to attract more tourists here to promote this place.

“The festival will be held next year and we will see the response from there,” said Ng who allocated RM100,000 for the festival.

Another RM200,000 was allocated for the upgrading of signboards in the park to make them readable and informative for the visitors.

She said the RM200,000 allocation was only a start, and TPS was encouraged to have a special park for native orchids to allow researchers and orchid lovers to enjoy their visit there.

TPS is one of the largest agriculture parks in Malaysia and boasts a background of truly natural landscape with the lush greenery of the Crocker Range. The park is knowledge and recreational oriented as well as an ideal environment for nature-based activities that makes this park a worthy holiday destination.

Ng said since the park has two chalets with only two rooms and a hostel which can accommodate only 88 persons, local hotel players should have the initiative to build more budget and clean hotels with a rating system to allow tourists to have a choice.

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Sabah Agricultural Park in Tenom to receive international promotion

KOTA KINABALU: The Federal Tourism Ministry would help Sabah develop and turn the Sabah Agricultural Park in Tenom into a world renowned tourism destination.

Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen said the park had the products and certainly the potential to attract international visitors but not sufficiently promoted in the domestic and foreign markets.

She said the ministry would allocate RM100,000 for hosting an orchid carnival at the park, as part of an effort to create awareness on the various attractions available there.

“After that we will study what else can we do to help imrpove and promote the park. I believe with the right publicity we can make the place a very popular destination. We have done this with the Sarawak’s Music Festival and I am confident we can do the same thing with Tenom Agricultural Park,” she said to reporters after concluding her three-day visit to Sabah yesterday.

“We will give a lot of focus to developing this unique product that cannot be found anywhere else. The natural wild orchids found in the park for example have a tremendous potential to tap the rapidly increasing niche market of botanical tourism.

“There are a lot of orchid exhibitions but the orchids here are unique and cannot be found anywhere else, and a lot of people would come just to see them,” she said.

Ng added she was also planning to bring in foreign tourism agencies for a familiarization programme at the park, so that they can develop packages to be offered to their clients.

She added another RM200,000 would be given for upgrading the basic facilities at the park and install proper information boards or plaques for all the plants there.

Meanwhile, the minister said she was happy with the implementation of projects funded by her ministry in Sabah.

She said focus would continue to be given on developing high impact products that cater to niche market, including those available at Sepilok wildlife sanctuary and Sepilok Rainforest Research Centre.

She noted RM6.5 million has been allocated under the third rolling plan of the 10th Malaysia Plan for improving the infrastructures in Sepilok while another RM5.3 million was given for upgrading the car park at the research centre.

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Places of Interest in Sabah: Sabah Agriculture Park, Tenom

The Sabah Agriculture Park (Taman Pertanian Sabah) in Tenom is situated on a 200 hectare site and was developed and maintained by the Agriculture Department. It is a park that offers visitors both recreational and educational activities.

Native Orchids - The Native Orchid Centre has been known and recognized as one of the most important centers in the world for the collection and conservation of native Bornean orchid species. There are at least 400 species with more than 1,500 collection being kept here, including many rare and endangered species such as the Elephant Ear orchid (Phalaenopsis gigantea), the Rat-tail orchid (Paraphalaenopsis labukensis) and the Bella orchid (Renanthera bella), also not forgetting the many species of Slipper orchids (Paphiopedilum spp.), many of which endemic to Borneo.


Crops Museum - This is an 8-acre living museum of Crop Plants where there are some 400 species of plants systematically planted according to their uses. There are those that are fruit trees, some for medicine, spices, fibers and beverages. Yet there are some that provide essential oils that are very aromatic and are used for the perfume industry. There are also some which are exotic and their uses are also explained.

Ornamental Garden - The Ornamental Garden comprises 21 distinct and well-landscaped gardens with each garden exhibiting its unique plants and flowers. Here you will see a variety of Bougainvilleas, Ixora, Hibiscus and cactus as well as other very interesting plants such as the Hoya. There is also collection of parasitic and carnivorous plants. You will very much enjoy going through the various gardens and perhaps pick up some ideas on how to set up your own garden.


Plant Evolution & Plant Adaptation Garden - Take a walk through this park and learn about the 3.5 billon years of earth's history. From the early unicellular organisms and plants, learn how through the process of evolution, that we have now the huge varieties of plant life on earth today. Get to see how plants adapt to the environments, from pond-life to semi-arid habitats. You will also get to see the amazing giant water lily from South America.

Model Garden - This garden has five smaller theme gardens to illustrate the different styels in which a garden can be modeled. The Sub-urban Garden is simple and pleasing while the Family Garden has more features for the children. The more formal garden are the Paved Town Garden, the City Garden and the Sabah/Malaysia Garden. It is pleasure to walk through all these five gardens.


Bee Centre and Museum - Sabah is home to five of the nine species of honey bees found in the world. The Bee Centre and Museum is a place where you can find them. There are also exhibits of equipment used in honey extraction and you can watch honey bees working in their hives up close. There is an orchard of food plants for the honey bees in the Bee Centre and Museum where you may want to take a walk.

Animal Park - The Animal Park is likened to a mini zoo and various animals and birds are put on display. Many of these animals and birds are examples of those already used for the commercial livestock industry. This park also gives visitors a rare chance of seeing some of the animals and birds up close.

Getting There

Visitors to the park can choose three routes to travel:

* Kota Kinabalu - Tambunan - Tenom : 3 hours
* Kota Kinabalu - Papar - Tenom : 2½ hours
* Kota Kinabalu - Sipitang - Tenom : 3 hours

Visitors can also travel by train to Tenom via Beaufort from Kota Kinabalu, a journey that will take four hours. There are taxis, buses and other forms of public transportation which you may wish to use and they are easily available in Kota Kinabalu.

Opening Hours

Tuesday to Sunday - 9.00 am - 4.30 pm
Closed on Monday (unless a Public Holiday falls on a Monday)

Source: Sabah Tourism

NOTE: Photos Copyright to e-borneo.com

ED NOTE: The Sabah Agricultural Park can be considered a hidden gem of remote Tenom. It is truly a haven for botanists or those interested in plants as the Park houses a wide collection of plants and flowers. If you are into fruits, you will never find any location with so many fruit trees in one place. One of the most interesting (or infamous) fruits is a red little thumb-nail size fruit, which is also known as the "Miracle Fruit" (scientific name for the plant - Synsepalum dulcificum) or commonly known as miracle berry. It is fast becoming one of the main attractions of the Park. What so miracle about this berry? Nothing that is out of this world. It just that after eating the berry, you may eat anything that is sour or bitter with ease, as you will immediately get a sweet response. Yes you heard it. Your lime or lemon will taste sweet instead. A quick Wiki found that this effect is due to miraculin, which is used commercially as a sugar substitute. A bit of disappoinment when I discover that this plant/species originates from West Africa. Would be marvelous if it is endermic to Tenom only. This plant can be found in the Model Garden. Do check it out (ask the botanist in charge) and do your own experiment when you visit the Sabah Agricultural Park.

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Sabah Tourism Upcoming Event: Flowers Festival

16 - 17 August 2008

What would the world be without flowers! The Sabah Agriculture Park will be celebrating the beauty and exceptionality of a myriad of flowers found on the grounds of the Park. Besides having the chance to purchase these flowers, join in some of the contests organised for the 2-day event, like the flower arrangement contest and the flower planting contest. There will also be an Art Camp for the public, a sale of various agricultural products and many other exciting events, so don’t forget to make your way to the Sabah Agricultural Park in Tenom for the Flowers Festival!

For more information, contact Ismail Haji Zakariah at 087 737952 / 737558 or fax 087 737571. Alternatively, contact Wan Masalmah Wan Abedin at 088 258529 or email agripark@sabah.net.my

Source: Sabah Tourism Newsletter

NOTE: All Photos Copyright to Sabah Tourism