KOTA KINABALU: The federal government has allocated RM33.59 million to improve food security in Sabah.
Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor witnessed the handover of the replica cheque from Agriculture and Food Security Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Sabu to state Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Industry Minister Datuk Seri Dr Jeffrey Kitingan yesterday.
Mohamad and his deputy, Datuk Arthur Joseph Kurup, had paid courtesy call on Hajiji at the chief minister's Sri Gaya official residence here.
"The allocation is to improve food security in the state, including the empowerment of integrated ruminant livestock and the rehabilitation of abandoned padi fields," Hajiji said in a statement.
He added that state government was also committed to increasing the self-sufficiency of agricultural products, especially rice, including reviving the Sabah Padi and Rice Board as well as implementing several initiatives to increase the rice self-sufficiency from 22 per cent this year to 31 percent in 2025.
He said this included paying attention to the cultivation of dryland and hill rice varieties.