Minister: Measures in place to boost food security, rural socio-development in Sabah

SOOK (Feb 9): The introduction of ‘Kebun Dapur’ initiative and the implementation of modern technology-based agricultural programmes are among the state government’s strategic measures in strengthening food security, reducing the cost of living, and improving the wellbeing of rural communities, particularly the B40 (low-income) group.

Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Industry Datuk Jamawi Jaafar said efforts to empower the rural agriculture sector had been his priority since he took office.

“My first aspiration was to uplift the dignity and wellbeing of farmers, smallholders and fishermen, most of whom fall within the B40 group,” he said when officiating at the Modern Fertigation Ginger Cultivation Briefing and Training Roadshow Programme (Ke-bun Dapur, or ‘Kitchen Garden’) at Kampung Sinua hall here on Saturday.

According to Jamawi, the roadshow will cover every parliamentary constituency in Sabah, with the first scheduled for this Feb 15 in Tuaran, and to be officiated by Chief Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Hajiji Noor.

Adding on, he said his ministry, with officers from the Department of Agriculture (DoA), would provide special packages at affordable prices involving the supply of agriculture and livestock inputs such as chickens, goats, fish, vegetables and other basic farming ne-cessities.

“With the implementation of the Kebun Dapur initiative, where vegetables and livestock are cultivated around the home, the people will no longer need to rely entirely on pur-chases from shops or markets,” he pointed out.

Jamawi also commended the efforts of Calvin Chin Kit Siong, a farmer from Melalap, who organised the programme and delivered talks on ginger cultivation to the participants.

The state minister also welcomed the 150 programme participants, adding that they would be divided into groups of 15 people each.

In this regard, he allocated RM2,000 for each group to fund their ginger cultivation pro-jects.

“I am confident that this effort will be able to improve the standard of living of the peo-ple in Sabah,” he said.

Also present were Tulid assemblyman Jordan Jude Ellron; Sook District officer Caroline Benjamin Jiungan; Sook Agriculture officer Azali Aling; and local community leaders.

In a separate programme, Jamawi and Jordan, together with Department of Irrigation and Drainage (DID) Keningau officer Dachord J Moujing, visited Sungai Transpegalan to inspect the irrigation canal issues that had been affecting paddy fields in Kampung Kepayan Baru.

Jamawi also visited the Panagatan Dam, which was no longer receiving water.

Previously, the dam supported the irrigation and drainage for four villages: Kampung Kasigui, Kampung Ulu Panagatan Laut, Kampung Kipirong, and Kampung Panagatan Laut.