PARTY INITIATIVE: Leon (first left) and Chong (third left) pose for group photograph after the presentation of seedlings.
KUCHING: DAP expanded its Impian Sarawak initiative by launching an oil palm seedling supply project to farmers in Sebujok, Ulu Undup, Sri Aman.
This represented the fourth Impian Sarawak project in the state after earlier ones in Bengoh, Serikin and Sematan.
The launching of the project in Sebujok last Saturday was officiated by DAP Sarawak chairman Chong Chieng Jen. He was joined by vice chairman Leon Jimat Donald, a potential candidate for the Simanggang seat for the coming state election.
During the launching, 51 families from eight longhouses from Ulu Undup Sri Aman were given 100 oil palm seedlings per family to start their venture into oil palm cultivation.
Leon, when explaining the project yesterday, said it is a micro-credit program where the participants are given 100 free trees initially to
plant.
The participants only need to start repaying the micro-credit loan only two years after the trees had started bearing fruit.
“This program is part of DAP’s Impian Sarawak’s ‘Economic Empowerment Project’ through which we aim to increase the household income of rural folk by giving them good cash crops to plant in their NCR (native customary rights) land,” explained Leon, who is also DAP Sri Aman branch chief.
Meanwhile, Kedit Abang from Paku, Ulu Undop said the farmers were happy that they were given the opportunity by DAP Impian Sarawak Program to participate in their economic empowerment program.
“Oil palm seedlings are very expensive, and before this we could only dream of planting it. And now we are extremely happy that we are given the opportunity to plant the seeds through this programme,” he said.