By Sulyn Chong
SHAH ALAM, Nov 25 — The Selangor state government will allocate RM7.9 million to the agricultural sector, especially for food agriculture through the Food Security Programme, says Menteri Besar Dato’ Seri Amirudin Shari.
“This year has been a challenging year in terms of economy, not only for the state of Selangor but also the country and the whole world as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Similar situations are felt in the agricultural sector, especially in the early stages when the Movement Control Order (MCO) was implemented in the country,” he said during the tabling of the 2023 Selangor Budget at the State Secretariat Building, here today.
Amirudin said the state government is focused on ensuring food security in Selangor is at a safe level, as well as increasing the income of agropreneurs.
The sustainable agriculture practice will be implemented through five policies under the Transformasi Agro Selangor Plan (PeTA):
- High-value crops
RM1.2 million is budgeted to develop reputable and experienced companies under the state before they serve as mentors to new entrepreneurs through the opening of new agricultural areas.
- Modernisation of agricultural methods
A total of RM2 million is allocated for the implementation of the Agricultural Revolution 4.0 concept, including new methods such as temperature and humidity control, aerial images and the use of the Global Positioning System (GPS) to combat challenges in obtaining land. It will also counter manpower challenges resulting from the ageing population and high dependency on foreign labour.
- Agropreneur development
An allocation of RM3 million will be used to overcome the ageing population among existing agropreneurs, and offer awareness and encouragement programmes to the younger generations through the use of modern equipment or gadgets.
- Marketing upgrade
RM1.2 million is set aside to intensify the marketing of agricultural products so that consumers can purchase products at cheaper prices.
- Agro-tourism
The agro-tourism programme will receive RM500,000 to help attract tourists to Selangor and increase the income of agropreneurs.
The policies will be mobilised under nine clusters, namely Agro Prihatin, Agro Komuniti, Agro Centre of Excellence (ACE), Agropreneur Selangor, Agro Pelancongan, Agro Maju Selangor, Agro Niaga, E-Agro as well as Smart Selangor Agro Park (SSAP) and Smart Selangor Agro Farm (SSAF).
The policies are to be overseen by the Selangor State Food Security Committee with the involvement of various departments, agencies, non-governmental organisations as well as various levels of society.
Meanwhile, another RM11 million is to be allocated to 14 Incentive programmes that will focus on efforts to upgrade the agro-food infrastructure and the use of the latest technologies at farms and premises levels.
