WARM WELCOME: Rohani (second left) being welcomed upon arrival at the village.
SARATOK: Kampung Batang Maro in Kabong has the potential to become a hub for producing agricultural produce as food for the state.
Deputy Minister of Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Datuk Rohani Abdul Karim said the potential was quite high since the villagers were mostly farmers.
“As such, the government encourages the villagers to work on their land planting various crops to produce food for the people,” she said.
Rohani, who is also Batang Lupar MP said this when launching the water tank project in Kampung Batang Maro and at a meet-the-people-session at Naslu Al-Iman mosque yesterday.
She said among roducts they could produce were virgin coconut oil, banana chips and sweet corn.
“These types of products can penetrate the local market easily. However, at the moment, these are sold in the village shops as they cost a lot to be marketed outside the village.
“In view of the village depending on river transportation, products from the village have yet to be marketed to other areas at the moment,” she said.
However, she said the government would like the villagers to market their products as they were the main food producer in the state.
She also said the village had the potential to become a tourist destination as it is located near the sea.
She suggested that the villagers provide homestay services as the village had many interesting places to attract tourists.
“Tourists who come here can also local buy products from the village,” she added.