THE Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries and its eight Departments/Agencies have worked hard over the past year to realise the achievement of Sabah Maju Jaya (SMJ) aspiration which celebrates its first anniversary on March 29, 2022.
Deputy Chief Minister cum Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries Datuk Seri Dr Jeffrey G. Kitingan said as many as 137 initiatives have been outlined for the agricultural sector which is a crucial hub for the development of SMJ.
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What steps are the Ministry taking to ensure food security in Sabah, especially in essential items like rice, chicken, fish and pork?
The government is carrying out all the strategies necessary to strengthen Sabah’s agricultural sector and ensure that food supplies like rice and milk remain stable. The Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries has developed four major initiatives to increase rice production and achieve a rice self-sufficiency level (SSL) of 60 per cent by 2030.
KBL partners with Purko Development Trust to increase forest cover in Mau Narok
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Kenya Breweries Limited (KBL) has donated Ksh.1.5 million to fund the fencing of 1000 acres and purchase of 100,000 seedlings in the Mau region. This was in collaboration with the Purko Development Trust and other stakeholders in the barley growing sector.
In knowledge of the challenges that barley farmers in the Mau region face as a result of climate change, the partnership aims to plant 1,000 acres of forest in the Purko community farm in the next 3-5 Years. The Mau region entirely depends on rainfall from the East and the Western Blocks of the Mau Forests. However, these blocks of forests have been depleted and sub-divided into human settlement areas causing drastic changes on the rainfall pattern and interfering with the growing seasons of barley and other crops.