GEORGE TOWN: The Penang government is willing to consider applications from those wanting to carry out small-scale cultivation of corn for chicken feed on temporary occupation licence (TOL) land in the state.
Penang chief minister Chow Kon Yeow said the state government encouraged farmers to venture into corn cultivation on a small scale because the current applications for TOL land were mostly for the cultivation of fruits.
He said, however, that TOL land holdings must be reviewed every year and it is not suitable for long-term cultivation.
“Planting grains or corn on a large scale for feeding chickens is not suitable for Penang which has a small land area. To date, only padi is being planted on a large scale in the Seberang Perai Utara area,” he told reporters after attending a Penang Development Corporation Hari Raya Aidilfitri celebration at Bayan Baru, near here today.
“The size of a TOL land is around 10,000 sq ft. There are also small plots for individuals of around 2,000 to 5,000 sq ft which are often requested for farming activities,” he said.
Chow was commenting on a newspaper report that said the Cabinet had requested the cooperation of state governments, government agencies and government-linked companies to provide TOL land for long-term corn cultivation.
Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob was reported to have said that the decision was based on views by the Cabinet that corn should be cultivated to become an alternative chicken feed.
Chow said Penang also strongly encouraged farming and livestock rearing activities and the state had a high capability to be independent in livestock and caged-fish breeding and others.
He said seafood from Penang, which was exported to other states, and padi were among the biggest contributors to the economic sector in the state.
He also said the state government had not received any reports of an acute shortage of food supply in Penang.
According to Chow, chicken and beef supplies were adequate in Penang based on the report issued by the state veterinary services department.
In Seremban, Negeri Sembilan, menteri besar Aminuddin Harun said the state government would have no problem approving TOL land for cash crop cultivation to increase food supply in the country.
“We have been approving TOL land to help small entrepreneurs every week. For example, in Jempol, we approved 100 acres (40.5ha) of disused ponds for farmers to work on.
“Recently, we also signed an agreement with Selangor to implement grain corn cultivation in Gemas and Kuala Langat Selatan on 400 acres (162ha) of land,” he told reporters after performing the ground-breaking ceremony for the Phase 2 Ngoi-Ngoi Water Treatment Plant (LRA) today.
On the LRA, he said the RM228 million Phase 2 Ngoi-Ngoi LRA project is expected to be completed in 2024.
Aminuddin said the LRA could also boost the supply of clean and treated water by up to 150 million litres daily to Seremban, Nilai, and Sendayan. - FMT
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