Kota Kinabalu: Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor wants to make it compulsory for government agencies and Government-Linked Companies (GLCs) having land banks to play their part in ensuring Sabah’s food security.
“The Government has given thousands of acres to many GLCs and government agencies. I want to make it mandatory or amend the policy so that GLCs with thousands of acres for oil palm put aside 2,000 or 3,000 or 5,000 acres for paddy and other crops like fruits or corn.
“This is important to ensure enough food for Sabah. We cannot rely solely on smallholders or imports,” he said, adding he would bring this to the State Cabinet for deliberation and approval.
“We need everyone to come in and play their part. We help not only the villagers, but also get the GLCs to help in addressing rice and other food shortages.
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He said the Agriculture Ministry has spoken to Felda about land allocated to it which had not been planted due to being in the lowlands and unsuitable for palm oil.
“It is being discussed if I’m not mistaken, it’s about 10,000 acres. This land is unsuitable for oil palm and would be better suited for paddy,” he said.
While acknowledging that getting the younger generations involved in agriculture may be difficult, he believes technology may be the answer like the use of drones.
On the revival of the Sabah Padi Board to increase Sabah’s rice self-sufficiency level, he said, the matter is still being discussed as preparing the groundwork like irrigation, machines and equipment and river water pumps, among other things, is costly.
“The State Cabinet discussed and agreed on this matter. But we need to know how much it will actually cost. It will require a minimum of at least RM300 million to revive the Board,” he said.
The Federal Government recently said 50,000 acres have been identified in Sabah and Sarawak for growing padi.
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