OVER 22,000 HECTARES OF IDLE PADI FIELDS IN SABAH BEING REVIVED

KOTA KINABALU, April 17 (Bernama) -- The Sabah Padi and Rice Board (LPBS) is working to revive 22,146 hectares of idle padi fields across the state, the State Legislative Assembly was told today.

Assistant Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Industry Datuk Peto Galim said the abandoned fields lack effective irrigation systems, and LPBS is undertaking various initiatives to restore the areas as local suppliers of padi and rice.

He said Kota Belud has the largest area of idle padi land with 8,652 hectares, followed by Kota Marudu (3,132 hectares), Keningau (3,514 hectares), Tuaran (2,514 hectares), Papar (2,270 hectares) and Tambunan (2,064 hectares).

“To ensure smooth management, a padi development and management committee has been established in each district, chaired by members of the LPBS board of directors.

“My ministry, through the Sabah Agriculture Department, is also providing agricultural technology training to improve farmers’ skills and efficiency and overall productivity,” he said.

He was responding to a question from Datuk Annuar Ayub (GRS-Liawan) regarding the state government’s efforts to boost local agricultural output.

Meanwhile, Assistant Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation Datuk Harun Durabi, in reply to a question from Calvin Chong (PH-Elopura) on support for secondary school students pursuing higher education, said several initiatives have been implemented.

These include the allocation of RM125 million this year under the Sabah State Government Scholarship (BKNS), an increase from RM113.17 million last year.

“This is part of the state government’s effort to sponsor more Sabahans to further their studies locally and abroad, with a focus on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) fields,” he said.

He added that one-off financial assistance is also being provided under the BUDI initiative for students entering higher learning institutions, along with free laptops for needy students under the Bantuan Ihsan Komputer (BAIK) programme.

-- BERNAMA