TELUPID: The federal government has allocated RM63.32 million to the Agriculture and Food Industries Ministry to implement the community garden programme nationwide.
Its minister Datuk Seri Dr Ronald Kiandee said the programme would not only bring socio-economic benefit but also enable urban and rural communities to grow short-term crops.
From 2014 to 2020, he said RM28.82 million had been allocated for the programme including RM10 million under the national economic recovery plan in 2020, which benefited 165,207 people nationwide.
"The encouraging response has prompted the government to provide an additional allocation of RM30 million this year, besides the annual allocation of RM4.5 million which has benefited 39,608 people at 25,775 locations nationwide," said Kiandee during a visit at Kampung Bauto, here, today.
About 300 people from various villages in Telupid, Sugut and Labuk had participated in the programme today to carry out conventional planting methods with agriculture incentives such as long pots, small equipment, fertiliser and seeds.
Meanwhile, he said the organic agriculture programme was also introduced this year to increase the yields of food that was safe to consume and environmentally-friendly.
To carry out the programme, he said the ministry had allocated RM50 million to the Agriculture Department, Veterinary Services Department, Fisheries Department Farmer's Organisation Authority and the Malaysian Agriculture Research and Development Institute.
Earlier, Kiandee distributed 250 food baskets to the residents affected by the Covid-19 pandemic courtesy of the Federation of Malaysia Fruit Farmers Association and Sabah Fruits Association.