Kota Kinabalu: Sabah is looking to boost its rice production through potential collaboration with China’s Hubei Province, a leader in hybrid rice technology.
This development came to light during a meeting between State Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Security, Datuk Seri Dr Jeffrey Kitingan, and a delegation from Hubei led by Liu Xiaoming, Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Hubei Provincial People’s Congress.
Jeffrey expressed keen interest in Hubei’s agricultural expertise, noting that the Chinese province’s hybrid rice yield reaches 11.8 tonnes per hectare, compared to Sabah’s 9.1 tonnes.
“We are very interested in increasing Sabah’s rice production, and we also hope to cultivate and plant hybrid sea rice to increase our rice production and strengthen national food security guarantees,” Jeffrey said.
SPONSORED CONTENT Shell awards Sabah LiveWIRE winners Kota Kinabalu: Shell has awarded five enterprises as the state winners of Shell LiveWIRE Malaysia 2024, following the Sabah state finals held at Plaza Shell in Kota Kinabalu. . Read more The meeting focused on potential cooperation in rice cultivation, agricultural technology innovation, and the transfer of scientific and technological achievements.
Liu Xiaoming highlighted Hubei’s strong agricultural research infrastructure and invited Jeffrey to visit relevant agricultural departments and research units in Hubei.
This potential partnership could significantly impact Sabah’s agricultural sector, potentially reducing the state’s dependence on rice imports and boosting local production.
It also represents a step forward in Malaysia-China agricultural cooperation at the regional level.
Meanwhile, Liu and delegation visited the Sabah State Assembly on Wednesday to explore avenues for enhanced cooperation between China and the Malaysian state of Sabah.
The delegation met with key Sabah officials, including Deputy Speakers of the Sabah State Legislative Assembly, Datuk Richard Yong, and Datuk Al Hambra Tun Juhar. Discussions centred on strengthening exchanges and cooperation across various fields.
During the meeting, Yong introduced Sabah’s political structure and outlined the State’s economic development strategy, which focuses on agriculture, industry, and tourism as primary growth drivers. He also highlighted Sabah’s commitment to sustainable development and improving human capital.
Both sides shared insights into their respective legislative systems and exchanged experiences in areas such as legislation, supervision, agriculture, and trade development.
Yong emphasised the rapid development of Malaysia-China bilateral relations in recent years, noting the “unique advantages and potential for friendly and pragmatic cooperation with Sabah.”
He expressed hope for closer future ties, particularly in economic, business, educational and cultural spheres.
The visit also saw the introduction of the Sabah-Malaysia My Second Home (Sabah-MM2H) program, which aims to attract foreign retirees to reside in Malaysia.
This diplomatic engagement is seen as a significant step in strengthening Sino-Malaysian relations at the regional level, potentially opening new avenues for economic and cultural exchanges between Hubei Province and Sabah State.
The delegation was accompanied by key figures from the Malaysia Maritime Silk Route Research Society, underlining the potential for this visit to boost maritime cooperation as well.
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