Gov't identifying land use for agro food production - Ahmad Zahid

MACHANG - The government through Felcra Berhad is identifying the land use area for agro-food activities, said Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

Ahmad Zahid who is also Rural and Regional Development Minister, said that the move would indirectly give Felcra participants and the next generation the opportunity to be part of the agro-food industry ‘s work force.

"Felcra has been assigned to help the government and the people in carrying out food production activities in addition to assisting the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security to reduce the import of food items such as rice, meat, chicken and eggs.

"We are not competing with the existing producers, but we just want to reduce the cost of living and to ensure no issue of seasonable food security regardless of the festive seasons." He said this to reporters after Felcra Berhad's Raya celebration at Bukit Tiu here today, which was also attended by its chairman Datuk Ahmad Jazlan Yaakub.

Ahmad Zahid said Felcra also has other business entities, which he would continue to monitor to further develop the agency's business transactions.

"So far, we have 3,000 hectares of padi estates in Perak and have identified 12,000 hectares of land in Sarawak and 6,000 hectares in Sabah to be used for padi cultivation," he said.

Meanwhile, when asked about the water supply problem in Kelantan, Ahmad Zahid said the government has provided the state an allocation of RM1 billion starting this year.

"The allocation is based on corporate governance perspectives while in terms of operations we will leave it to the Ministry of Finance," he said.

Earlier, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said the Unity Government has agreed to take immediate measures to resolve the water supply problems faced by consumers in Kelantan regardless of political affiliation. - BERNAMA