Revival of Sabah’s rice board in the pipeline, says Hajiji

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah is working towards reviving the state padi board in order to boost the production of rice, said Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor.

The Chief Minister said the re-establishment of the board is expected to increase Sabah’s rice self-sufficiency level (SSL) to 60% by 2030.

At present, he said, Sabah was dependent on rice imports, with 78% of its rice needs catered by supplies from countries such as China, Vietnam, Thailand and Pakistan, among others.

“Currently, Sabah’s SSL on rice is at 22%,” he said in his speech at the launch of the state-level Farmers, Breeders and Fishermen’s Day at Wisma Pertanian here on Thursday (July 27).

“We hope that the revival of the Sabah Paddy Board will be able to increase the SSL on rice and thus reduce imports,” he added.

Hajiji’s speech was delivered by Deputy Chief Minister I Datuk Seri Dr Jeffrey G Kitingan, who is also the state Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Industry (Maffi) Minister.

The Chief Minister also said that the state government has established a special Cabinet committee, which will be spearheaded by Kitingan’s ministry, to address the low SSL in Sabah.

“I am proud of the hard work by Maffi and agencies under it as well as the federal government agencies that have worked together to achieve the goal of increasing the SSL of all types of food,” he said.

Among the issues that have affected the SSL, he said, were the areas allocated for paddy fields have been reduced to make way for residential and commercial developments.

“To deal with this, the government has explored a new rice planting area in Trusan Sapi in the Beluran district covering an area of approximately 2,000 acres.

“It is being developed in an integrated manner by Maffi and its agencies including the Rural Development Corporation, the Agriculture Department as well as the Irrigation and Drainage Department, with the involvement of the private sector and residents in Trusan Sapi as well,” Hajiji said.

He said farmers, breeders and fishermen are important in contributing to the economic development of the state and the country.

Therefore, he said, they should be ready to accept and make new changes in agriculture including utilising modern farming management.

“Farmers, breeders and fishermen should be more innovative, improve their expertise and work harder in seizing investment opportunities in the growing agricultural sector.

“To achieve this, we must open up to new and up-to-date ideas and information and be able to adapt it according to the situation and time,” Hajiji said.