PUTRAJAYA, April 24 (Bernama) -- Acting Prime Minister Datuk Seri AbdullahAhmad Badawi said Thursday that smallholders should replant their crops toearn more income.

He said rubber, cocoa and oil palm smallholders should replant their oldcrops.

"During the replanting process, smallholders also plant other cash cropsand undertake projects related to fishery and animal husbandry which cangive additional income," he told reporters after chairing the CabinetCommittee meeting on ways of increasing income for the smallholders, hereThursday.

In this effort, the relevant departments and agencies should take anintegrated approach, he said.

Abdullah said upon implementation of the project, the monthly income ofthe smallholders must exceed the poverty level of RM530 in the peninsulaand RM685 in Sabah.

"We can only overcome poverty this way. Otherwise, they will remain pooralthough the government spends a lot," he said.

He said the government had spent RM507 million as initial allocations toassist the smallholders in replanting their crops and after careful study,there was a need to increase it.

He said the committee, which met Thursday, agreed that RM278 million beadded to increase the overall budget to RM785 million to implement thereplanting projects.

Abdullah said: "The additional allocation is being given because we don'twant any group of smallholders who are eligible to receive the replantingsubsidy to be left out and thus create problems."

"What is important to me is that if we want to help the smallholdersthrough the replanting scheme, then the scheme must produce an incomewhich is higher than the poverty level," he said.

Others who attended the meeting at the Rural Development Ministry includedRural Development Minister Datuk Azmi Khalid, Primary Industries MinisterDatuk Seri Dr Lim Keng Yaik, Land and Cooperative Development Minister TanSri Kasitah Gaddam and Agriculture Minister Datuk Mohd Effendi Norwawi.

-- BERNAMA