THE POTENTIAL APPLICATION OF MUZARA’AH IN BRUNEI DARUSSALAM: A FEASIBILITY STUDY AMONG YOUTHS

Abstract

Covid-19 without doubt has tested the resilience of many sectors including the food sector. Shortage of food supply during the pandemic due to logistics has heightened measures and awareness of governments across the globe. One of the many mitigation proposed by the government of Brunei Darussalam was to kick start the involvement of more local entrepreneurs in the agricultural sector. Several efforts were made by the government including the pilot programme whereby potential individuals were given plot of lands, up to 7,000 hectares of gazetted land for agricultural development (Wasil, 2019). The allocation of lands was also timely to pick up the rising rate of unemployment in Brunei at the rate of 7.4% in 2022 alone after and during the onset of Covid-19 (CSPS, 2022). However, criteria for the pilot programme available for example having a successful registered business with a steady stream of cashflow and having the expertise in agriculture may hinder both the progress of the sector and youth’s employability prospects, as well as wastage of the allocated lands. This study investigates the potential application of muzara’ah, a traditional Islamic contract used in agriculture to be used in Brunei Darussalam among youths. The study aims at investigating the feasibility through documentation analysis as well as semi-structures interviews with youths as one of the important stakeholders for the improvement of the agricultural sector. The study projects a positive acceptance of muzara’ah among the youths as they see bigger opportunities in using the contract if coupled with the pilot scheme for agriculture development. The research suggests further collaboration between government and institutional agencies involved with local agripreneurs to better understand and open further opportunities using the muzara’ah contract for application.