PASIR PUTEH - Agrobank through the Agrobank Centre of Excellent (ACE) has channelled funds amounting to RM250,000 to 20 students of Pasir Puteh Vocational College to make the Graduate Agricultural Youth Development Incubator (Probest) programme a success.
Agrobank chief executive officer Datuk Tengku Ahmad Badli Shah Raja Hussin said the structured community development programme that focused on the B40 and ‘asnaf’ (zakat recipients) groups aimed to create income-generating opportunities for participants.
"They can also gain knowledge in terms of training and technical guidance as well as the art of entrepreneurship in the agriculture and livestock breeding sector from industry experts.
"For this Vocational College, the participants will implement rock melon and Napier grass planting projects involving the planting of two hectares for each participant with an expected income of RM3,000 per month," he told reporters at the 2023 Agrotek Madani Carnival @ KVKPM at Pasir Puteh Vocational College here today which was officiated by Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek.
Commenting further, Ahmad Badli Shah said the programme in collaboration with the Young Agropreneur Unit of the Agriculture and Food Security Ministry provided start-up funding, project equipment and service assistance to support the initial phase of the development of agricultural and livestock projects.
He said Agrobank provided a total of RM3 million in funds for the programme which would benefit 100 B40 students and asnaf.
He added that as a development bank with a mandate to lead agricultural banking, Agrobank is proactive in ensuring the success of the programmes.
"Through this programme, Agrobank is confident that it can raise awareness among the community, especially the youth, about high-income job opportunities through the agricultural field, in addition to helping asnaf students generate income and meet the increasing needs of living today," he said.
In a separate development, Ahmad Badli Shah said Agrobank would also provide a cashless purchase system at the Pasir Puteh Vocational College cooperative this year to make it easier for students to make purchases by scanning a QR code. - BERNAMA