Govt identifying land use for food production - Zahid

 

The government through Felcra Bhd is identifying the land use area for agro-food activities, said Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

Zahid, who is also the rural and regional development minister said this would indirectly give Felcra participants and the next generation the opportunity to be part of the agro-food industry‘s workforce.

“Felcra has been assigned to help the government and the people in carrying out food production activities in addition to assisting the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security to reduce the import of food items such as rice, meat, chicken, and eggs.

“We are not competing with the existing producers, but we just want to reduce the cost of living and to ensure no issue of seasonable food security regardless of the festive seasons.”

He said this to reporters after Felcra Bhd’s Raya celebration at Bukit Tiu in Machang, Kelantan, today, which was also attended by its chairperson Ahmad Jazlan Yaakub.

Zahid said Felcra also has other business entities, which he would continue to monitor to further develop the agency’s businesses.

“So far, we have 3,000 hectares of paddy estates in Perak and have identified 12,000 hectares of land in Sarawak and 6,000 hectares in Sabah to be used for paddy cultivation,” he said.

Meanwhile, when asked about the water supply problem in Kelantan, Zahid said the government has provided the state with an allocation of RM1 billion starting this year.

“The allocation is based on corporate governance perspectives while in terms of operations, we will leave it to the Ministry of Finance,” he said.

Earlier, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said the federal government has agreed to take immediate measures to resolve the water supply problems faced by consumers in Kelantan regardless of political affiliation.

- Bernama