Ministry of Agriculture to work with Fama to improve marketing network for rural farmers
SPAOH, Betong: The state government will work with the Federal Agricultural Marketing Authority (Fama) to set up a more effective marketing and distributing network to help farmers market their produce.
Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas, who is also Minister of Agriculture, Modernisation and Rural Economy, said he had instructed his officers to discuss with Fama to find a solution to the marketing woes of the rural farmers.
“The problem we face now is over production of certain vegetables and fruits during peak season – and whenever oversupply happen, prices drop and farmers are burdened with oversupply,” he said during a Hari Raya Aidilfitri open house for Bukit Saban constituency at Spaoh Futsal Court yesterday.
However, there could be shortage of the vegetables or fruits in other parts of the state, especially in major towns, but the farmers could not send their produce there.
“We have a plan. I have instructed Department of Agriculture (DOA) Sarawak and Fama to discuss how to create a statewide machinery to buy agriculture produce from rural areas and sell them in town areas or wherever there is demand for those produce.
“For example, in Sri Aman some 500 acres are cultivated with highest grade rambutans but during fruiting season the fruits end up rotten on the trees because they cannot sell it locally, this is very sad when the demand for the fruit could be high in other areas – there is a missing link between the supply and the market,” he said.
Uggah also told reporters that he had requested Fama to find suitable sites for ‘pasar tani’ (farmers’ market) in the state to create more venues for rural farmers to sell their produce.
Uggah also disclosed that RM40 million had been set aside to cushion the impact of the drastic decline of rubber price on smallholders in the state.
Based on his ministry’s record, there are some 80,000 rubber smallholders.
“Each family will be getting RM500 assistance, therefore we will disburse some RM40,000,000 for the 80,000 rubber smallholders.”