KOTA KINABALU: Agriculture and Food Industry Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Yahya Hussin flagged off the Kembara Muda Promosi Malaysia Agriculture, Horticulture and Agrotourism (MAHA) 2014 at the Harbour City here yesterday.
The five-day road campaign, which started in Kota Kinabalu, will travel through the districts of Tuaran, Kota Belud, Kota Marudu, Kudat and Putatan before ending in Sepanggar on October 17.
Yahya said the road campaign is intended to promote the international exhibition to be held from November 20 to 30 at the Malaysia Agro Exposition Park Serdang (MAEPS) in Selangor.
“The road campaign signifies to the people that the government places great importance on the state’s agriculture, livestock and fisheries in terms of being the main source of food in the country,”said the minister.
“Sabah’s own products, such as kuih cincin and kuih lidah as well as pomelo and other local fruits will be showcased at a pavilion allocated for the state in Serdang, which is expected to be visited by not only local but also foreign people,” said Yahya.
The exhibition is the largest of its kind in Malaysia. Every state in the nation will be showcasing their products at their respective pavilion there, said the minister.
The biannual MAHA 2014 agricultural exhibition, which will be held in conjunction with the national Farmers, Breeders and Fishermen Day, places emphasis on innovation and progressive development of the agro-food and agro-based industries in Malaysia.
The initiative is intended to enrich the country’s agriculture sector and development of new agriculture.
The exhibition will be open to traders only on November 20–21 between 10am–6pm and will be open to the public on November 22–30 between 10am–10pm.
On another development, Yahya said he had hoped that Sabah would get a large hill paddy subsidy allocation in the national 2015 Budget.
According to the minister, the allocation is apt as Sabah has about 5,000 hectares of highland areas, such as in Keningau, Penampang and Ranau.