Farmers Should Not Hesitate To Seek Advice From Govt Agencies - Musa

Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman  (second left) says syabas  to the winner (Boer) Goat. Onlooking are  Minister of Youths and Sports Datuk Tawfiq Abu Bakar (left), Deputy Chief Minister cum Minister of Agriclture and Food Industry Datuk Seri Yahya Hussin (fourth from left) , Federal Secretary Dato’ Abu Bakar Hassan (second right) and State Secretary Tan Sri Sukarti Wakiman (right).

KOTA KINABALU: Farmers, breeders and fishermen should not hesitate to seek advice from government agencies involved in agriculture sector.

Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman said they should always look for new technology, learn new techniques to increase production and  value added products.

“As such they should not hesitate to seek help from state or national government agencies such as Federal Agriculture Marketing Agency (FAMA), Agriculture Bank or Agriculture department.”

He was launching the Farmers, Breeders and Fishermen Day Celebration at Tg Aru this morning.

Musa said the state government  placed great emphasis on agriculture along with other sectors such as tourism.

“Sabah is blessed with vast land and natural resources. We must fully utilise our land for agricultural products to get more yield ,  more income, employment and profit ,” he said.

Musa said Sabah, with its 1.3 million hectares of oil palm plantation,  is the largest producer of CPO  in Malaysia.

Sabah is also the largest producer of dairy milk, producing 10 million litres per year, he added.

He said Kota Belud has been identified as the potential place to be the rice bowl of Sabah as it had vast land suitable for padi cultivation.

“With sufficient rice production, we should be able to reduce the dependence on imported rice,” Musa said.

Earlier, in his welcome speech Minister of Agriculture and Food Industry Datuk Seri Haji Yahya Hussin said the agriculture sector is given greater importance to reduce the import  of food products which stood currently at RM2.9 billion.

Yahya said this figure increased every year and the government had taken initiatives to introduce modern technology to increase agriculture production.

“The government, under the Economic Transformation Programme (ETP)   is encouraging  farmers  to diversify their products by giving incentives,” he said.

Later, Musa gave away prizes to “High Achievers” who were adjudged best performers for 2013 in their chosen field of agriculture.

Musa and Yahya then visited the special booths and expo centres set up specially for the four day function.

The event was also attended by the Speaker of State Assembly Datuk Seri Salleh Tun said, the Federal secretary Dato’ Abu Bakar Hassan, the State Secretary Tan Sri Sukarti Wakiman, Minister of Youths and Sports Datuk  Tawfiq Abu Bakar and other dignitaries.-END/PENERANGAN