KOTA KINABALU: Sabahans are upbeat over the revival of the Sabah Padi Board, which would ultimately boost paddy production in the state.
“The revival of the Sabah Padi Board is very welcome. The new board should be a mirror image of the last board.
“There should be minor additions, but one big difference: there should be no involvement from Padi Beras Negara in the new Sabah Padi board,” Sabah Social Activist Remy Majangkim told the Jesselton Times today.
He said the inception of a new Padi Board would give Sabah the jurisdiction to manage paddy imports and open up new land for paddy cultivation.
“As a reminder, agriculture is listed under the concurrent list in the Federal Constitution, meaning jointly,” he said.
Remy also hailed the proposal to establish Taman Kekal Pergeluaran Makanan,” or TKPM, which involves a land area of 595.87 hectares in Kinabatangan, Sandakan.
“It should be made transparently, as there was a viral report of land grabs happening in the area. These claims need to be verified and debunked,” he said.
On the animal husbandry in the state, he said there was a need to break free from animal feed cartels that dominate the feed industry.
The price of feed increases exponentially after COVID, thus leading to an increase in meat and poultry in the state, he said.
“These trends continue to benefit only a handful of individuals within the monopoly chain.
“So we need to have initiatives and plans set in motion to reduce the price of feed and increase feed production,” he added.
