By Ufairah Tarmidzi
SHAH ALAM, Aug 6 — Six farmers in the state have been selected to receive grants totalling RM970,000 from the Selangor Agricultural Development Corporation (PKPS) to implement the High-Value Cash Crop Project.
Its chief executive officer Mohamad Khairil Mohamad Razi said this comes after the Memorandum of Understanding signed previously with the Agriculture and Food Security Ministry (MAFS).
The project focuses on cash crops, which are crops planted for less than a year, including the harvest period.
“The crops must involve high-value cash crops like chillies. Various programmes are provided under MAFS and the Economy Ministry.
“In addition, we also look at the size of the farm and the technology used,” he said during the PKPS and MAFS High-Value Cash Crop Project Strategic Partner Certificate Presentation Ceremony at Wisma PKPS yesterday.
Khairil added that the six selected farmers meet the set criteria, especially those based on cash crops including cili padi, ginger, plantains, watermelons, and papayas.
The funds are given in cash to the farmers for the purchase of the necessary cash crop items, and the agency will also conduct weekly monitoring.
In February, the state government via PKPS signed an MoU with MAFS with a RM24 million allocation to strengthen the food security agenda under the Selangor Agricultural Transformation Plan (PeTA) framework.
Meanwhile, farmer Nazri Salamat, 50, expressed his gratitude for being chosen as one of PKPS’s strategic partners in helping the state government implement high-impact agriculture and increase the self-sufficiency rate of commodities in Selangor.
Beginning his career by growing plantains on 15 acres of land in Sungai Besar four years ago, he also aims to produce more of the same products using the RM250,000 grant to meet market demand.
“I plan to expand and further increase the cultivation of plantains as there is a high demand that we currently cannot meet,” he said.
Similarly, farmer Mohd Izzat Ismail said he did not expect his application to become part of PKPS’s strategic partners to be accepted after undergoing several screenings previously.
Starting with durian cultivation in 2016, he took a step forward with Dusun Cikgu Ismail in Hulu Selangor by planting Callina papayas last year and is in the process of adding another two acres of land for papaya cultivation.
“One of the reasons I applied for the PKPS allocation is to add more equipment and upgrade the infrastructure in my orchard,” he said.
