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KUALA KANGSAR – The Perak government is in the process of setting up a land bank for agriculture to enable exploitation of idle land to ensure food security in the state.
State Plantations, Agriculture and Food Industries Committee chairman Razman Zakaria said a proposal on this was decided at a Food Security Committee meeting chaired by Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Saarani Mohamad recently, which was attended by agencies under the Agriculture and Food Industries Ministry.
“This move is to help the food industry in the state and develop idle lands towards increasing yields, including increasing padi yields for self-sufficiency,” he told a press conference after officiating the Kuala Kangsar district-level Farm Day at Dewan Chandan Putri here today.
On June 28, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob announced the establishment of Food Security Committees at state and district levels to ensure effective implementation of the National Food Security Policy Action Plan 2021-2025.
Razman said once the land bank was in place, it would make it easier for entrepreneurs to apply for land for development as well as help increase food production.
“We received many applications from entrepreneurs who are looking for land to develop the agricultural sector and we have a lot of such land, like under electrical grids that can be exploited.
“When there are entrepreneurs who want to plant corn, we can show vacant land under the ownership of the Agriculture Department, State Agricultural Development Corporation, Perak State Development Corporation and privately owned lands in identifiable locations such as in the Hulu Perak and Larut Matang Selama districts, which have not been developed due to irrigation system problems,” he added. – Bernama, July 7, 2022
