New agriculture minister pushes home-based farming for Sabah families (Video)

KOTA KINABALU (Dec 2): Newly appointed Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Industry Minister Datuk Jamawi Jaafar has wasted no time after winning Melalap, immediately outlining plans to encourage Sabahans to take up home-based agriculture.

In his first video message after the state’s 17th election, Jamawi said the work of strengthening Sabah’s food security starts from home compound, revealing that he has already begun shaping programmes aimed at helping families plant fruit trees and undertake small-scale farming.

The newly elected representative, himself a farmer long before entering politics, said the idea was inspired by his own practices of cultivating various fruits and rearing goats, chickens and fish at home.

“Many people have told me they are inspired by how I plant different types of fruits while keeping fish and poultry.

“With my tagline ‘berbudi kepada tanah’, I want to share what I’ve learnt so more Sabahans can benefit from agriculture,” he said.

Jamawi added, among his first initiatives as minister would be a state-wide push encouraging households to plant fruit trees such as durian, coconut, mango and cempedak around their homes.

While he stopped short of promising free seedlings, he noted that discussions could be held with nurseries to provide saplings at affordable prices.

“Even if not free, we can explore ways to commercialise and multiply the seedlings so they are reasonably priced. What matters is that families have access,” he said.

He added that during his visits to rural communities, he often observed that small farmers and breeders lacked adequate information about assistance available from various agencies, a gap he aims to close through more frequent ground engagement.

“As minister, I will go on the ground because I know how it feels when farmers are not aware of the support that actually exists,” he said.