MARKET DEVELOPMENT
Develop Rubber and Oil Palm Smallholding to Eradicate Rural Poverty
Develop Rubber and Oil Palm Smallholding to Eradicate Rural Poverty
30/05/2013 (Borneo Post) - The state government will look to the development of rubber and oil palm smallholder planting as a major strategy towards eradication of poverty in rural areas in tandem with relevant National Key Economic Areas (NKEAs) in the Economic Transformation Programme (ETP).
In reference to Head of State’s mention of several socio-economic matters under Sarawak’s rural transformation agenda in His Excellency’s address when officiating the opening of the State Legislative Assembly (DUN) last week, Minister of Modernisation of Agriculture Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Alfred Jabu Numpang said that these issues were relevant to his ministry.
“I would like to assure this august house that my ministry and all agencies under my purview would continue to intensify efforts to transform the agriculture sector throughout Sarawak into a modern and competitive sector.
“The eradication of poverty is a priority goal of the government.
“To achieve the income objective, each smallholder will need to manage at least four hectares (ha) of either rubber or oil palm crop.
“In this connection, the federal government has agreed to provide the necessary funding under the NKEA initiative,” said Jabu, who is also Deputy Chief Minister and Minister of Rural Development, during his winding-up speech at the sitting of the State Legislative Assembly (DUN) yesterday.
Towards this end, he added that his ministry had set up a target of 350,000ha for the period 2010 to 2020 which would benefit some 87,000 farm families.
In reference to Head of State’s mention of several socio-economic matters under Sarawak’s rural transformation agenda in His Excellency’s address when officiating the opening of the State Legislative Assembly (DUN) last week, Minister of Modernisation of Agriculture Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Alfred Jabu Numpang said that these issues were relevant to his ministry.
“I would like to assure this august house that my ministry and all agencies under my purview would continue to intensify efforts to transform the agriculture sector throughout Sarawak into a modern and competitive sector.
“The eradication of poverty is a priority goal of the government.
“To achieve the income objective, each smallholder will need to manage at least four hectares (ha) of either rubber or oil palm crop.
“In this connection, the federal government has agreed to provide the necessary funding under the NKEA initiative,” said Jabu, who is also Deputy Chief Minister and Minister of Rural Development, during his winding-up speech at the sitting of the State Legislative Assembly (DUN) yesterday.
Towards this end, he added that his ministry had set up a target of 350,000ha for the period 2010 to 2020 which would benefit some 87,000 farm families.