KOTA KINABALU: Sabah is seeking ways to double its current food production as it races towards 60% self-sufficiency by 2030.
State agriculture and fisheries minister Jeffrey Kitingan said at the moment Sabah produces only 25% of its food needs.
“Whether or not the target is realistic, that is the goal we are aiming for,” he said in a statement here today.
Kitingan, who is also Sabah deputy chief minister, said one way to achieve the target is to double yields by introducing high-yield seeds and superior fruit species.
He said the Sabah agriculture department had been distributing the superior Tuaran Rice 8 (TR8) seeds to farmers, which had resulted in padi yield to more than double.
“TR8 is already modernising padi planting, and we aim to make the seeds widely available. Researchers at the Agriculture Research Section in Tenom have also studied various herbs and fruits to be introduced and hopefully make them available locally,” he said.
“These products have the potential to make Sabah a major player in exotic food production one day.”
Kitingan said Sabah would need to increase the acreage of land used for food cultivation in future.
He said oil palm currently occupies 1.8 million hectares compared to 93,000ha used for food crops, of which only 35,000ha is used for padi cultivation.
“One option is to discuss with oil palm growers to dedicate 10% of their land for food crops,” he said.
Earlier, Kitingan said the state government would spend RM50 million to build a 4.4km-long bund to alleviate flooding in Tenom town. Construction is expected to be completed by 2025.
Kitingan said the location of Tenom town near the confluence of the Pegalan and the Padas rivers meant that the town was always at risk of floods during heavy rain.
Tenom suffered one of its worst floods six weeks ago, forcing more than 5,000 residents to flee their homes. - FMT
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