By : Assoc. Prof. Dr. Natrah Fatin Mohd Ikhsan 

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and European Union had funded almost MYR 5.2 million to boost knowledge in Aquaculture and we are blessed that Associate Prof. Dr Natrah Ikhsan from Department of Aquaculture, Faculty of Agriculture, UPM and her team had won these two international grants. Dr Natrah who is also an Associate Researcher in the Laboratory of Aquaculture, International Institute of Aquaculture and Aquatic Sciences (i-AQUAS) and Laboratory of Marine Biotechnology, Institute of Bioscience (IBS) is the principle investigator for both projects.

Together in the researches, various academic institutions in the Europe and Asia are involved including four universities from Malaysia (Universiti Putra Malaysia, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu), Belgium (Université Libre de Bruxelles/Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium); China (South China Institute of Botany, China); Thailand (Mahidol University); Philippines (University of  the Philippines Los Baños); Bangladesh (Bangladesh Fisheries Research Institute); Australia (University of Tasmania) and New Zealand (National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research Ltd (NIWA)).

International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Canada in collaboration with the Global AMR Innovation Fund (GAMRIF), United Kingdom is on the ‘Integrated Probiotic Quorum Quenching Strategies to reduce Antimicrobial Resistance in Shrimp Aquaculture’ with funds around RM 4.2 million.

Probiotic products - sustainable feed & enhanced water culture system

The project aims to come up with a number of probiotic products in the form of feed and enhanced water culture systems which could reduce the occurrence of antimicrobial resistance in shrimp products. It is hoped that the product could also enhance shrimp growth performance and health status, increase the aquaculture production and eventually the farmer income, and empower women in agriculture. The grant begins from August 2019 - December 2021.

Enhanced shrimp growth performance & health status

On the other hand, European Union under the Trans-Eurasia Information Network (TEIN) programme through Asi@Connect project is on the Aquatic Resource Management in Mangrove Ecosystem via Internet of Things Application. The main project objectives are to expand and provide awareness to the global community on the use of the Internet of Things for environmental monitoring purposes particularly in the mangrove ecosystem. Expected outcomes includes different mangrove case studies, development of massive online open course and various community outreach programs. The grant begins from April 2020 - April 2021 with funds around RM 1 million.

Expansion of IoT applications in mangrove ecosystems. Collaboration between Asia-Europe Universities & Industry (Malaysia, Belgium, Bangladesh, Philippines, China, Thailand, Australia, New Zealand & Ericsson)  

The project is also in collaboration with the industry (Ericsson Malaysia) and professional society (Malaysian Fisheries Society). Internally in UPM, the collaboration involves various faculties, institutes and centers such as Faculty of Agriculture, Faculty of Engineering, Faculty of Computer Science and Technology, Faculty of Forestry and Environment and Faculty of Science. The two participating institutes are the International Institute of Aquaculture and Aquatic Sciences (i-AQUAS), and Institute of Bioscience (IBS). Among the involved centers are Centre for Academic Development (CADe) and the Infocomm Development Centre (iDEC).

Date of Input: 31/01/2021 | Updated: 31/01/2021 | nsyahirah