Dr Abdul Rahman (third left), Jakaria (third right), Christopher (right) and others during a visit to a ‘Kelapa Matag’ coconut farm at Kampung Benuas in Limbang.
LIMBANG: Farmers in Limbang are encouraged to tap the potential of growing coconut, particularly the ‘Kelapa Matag’ and ‘Kelapa Pandan’ varieties.
Speaking after visiting several agriculture projects in Limbang District yesterday, Assistant Minister of Agriculture, Native Land and Regional Development, Datuk Dr Abdul Rahman Ismail, said coconut, especially the two varieties, can be a good and steady source of income.
He thus encouraged farmers in Limbang to expand their coconut farms, which in turn would boost the coconut plantation industry in Sarawak.
“The progress of agriculture development in Limbang has been good since 2016. Many farmers have shown their interest to take up agriculture such as by planting coconut varieties such as ‘Kelapa Matag’ and ‘Kelapa Pandan’, which can give good returns to the farmers,” he said.
Joining him for the site visits were Limbang Division agriculture officer Jakaria Rambli, Limbang Division assistant agriculture officer Amirul Fikri Jemali and Limbang District assistant agriculture officer Christopher Dawat Nur.
The Bukit Kota assemblyman said such effort is in line with the Agriculture Department’s target to expand the agriculture sector in Sarawak which focuses on producing downstream products from agriculture.
He said under the Agriculture Facilitation Fund (AFF), a sum of RM157,575 has been allocated to assist 47 farmers involved in planting ‘Kelapa Matag’ at Kampung Benuas.
The villagers started growing the coconut variety since 2017 over an area of about 15 hectares.
For Kampung Sayong, he said the government through AFF has allocated RM422,400 in assistance to 48 farmers to develop Kelapa Pandan plantation on 20 hectares of land, which started in 2019.
Besides assistance for coconut cultivation, he said the government also provided financial assistance to farmers for other crops.
As an example, he said a participant in Kampung Sembiling had received RM6,750 to grow the ‘Keningau Diamond’ pineapple variety on one hectare of land.
Besides planting pineapple, he added, the participant, who is a retired teacher, also grew other crops such as stinky bean (petai).
The government also channelled AFF assistance to a participant from Kampung Tabahan, he said, adding the assistance was in the form of equipment worth RM30,000 for her to expand her Durian Cheese Cake making business.
“The AFF assistance is the government’s initiative to assist those entrepreneurs in their business.”