NABAWAN: The Sabah Land Development Board (SLDB) will embark on a Durian Musang King agriculture project in the near future involving 100 hectares in Sipitang.
Its Chairman Datuk Abdul Ghani Mohd Yassin said the additional project would be done in phases using a supply of seeds from Raub, Pahang.
“We will start the durian musang king planting project on a five-hectare land site which includes the residential land of settlers.
“Currently, a total of 10 to 20 people are involved in making the five-hectare project phase a success before completing the whole 100 hectares.
“This project receives investment from local investors to develop abandoned lands,”
He said after handing over settlers’ income and dividends to participants and smallholders for 2021 by Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Mohd Noor at the Ramadan Iftar Ceremony with SLDB at the Al-Hidayah Mosque, Tuesday (pic).
Commenting further on the distribution of RM21 million dividend to settlers last year, Abdul Ghani said the dividend was paid monthly and quarterly throughout 2021.
“The performance of the accumulated dividend distribution in 2021 to settlers and participants amounted to RM21 million compared to RM3.4 million in 2020.
“This is a very high achievement recorded by the Board in the last three years.
“Among the main factors contributing to this achievement is the increase in palm oil production, which is 68,000 metric tonnes in 2021 compared to 53,000 metric tonnes in 2020.
“Besides that, the encouraging increase in palm oil prices is also the main factor in generating good dividends.
“The average price of Fresh Bunch Fruit (FFB) for 2021 was recorded at RM867 per metric tonne in 2021 compared to RM426 per metric tonne in 2020,” he explained.
He added that as of the first quarter of 2022, SLDB has paid RM5 million compared to the 2022 budget estimate of RM3.4 million.
“However, we are still looking for the best avenues to increase the income of settlers not only from commodities, but also from our programmes such as pineapple and vegetable cultivation as well as other activities, including Durian Musang King,” he said.
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