KOTA KINABALU: Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Industry Minister Datuk Jamawi Jaafar (
pic) said Ko-Nelayan will implement eight programmes and 28 projects worth RM108.49 million under the 13th Malaysia Plan (13MP) to strengthen the income and resilience of marine and inland fishermen across Sabah.
He said the allocation is expected to deliver long-term impact for fishing communities, noting that Ko-Nelayan had utilised about 90 per cent of its previous RM39.8 million allocation.
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Jamawi said the ministry and its agencies must remain on the ground to address issues and help improve people’s income, and highlighted the Kebun Dapur initiative which encourages households with limited land to grow food for their own consumption and sell surplus produce to reduce living costs and enhance food security.
Meanwhile, Ko-Nelayan General Manager Yusof Awang Besar said the corporation is entering 13MP with its highest allocation and will prioritise programmes to raise the income of low-earning fishermen through soft financing, training and modern marketing approaches, including the e-Ikan digital platform.
He said financing schemes will be offered statewide to support boat purchases, small-scale industry expansion and machinery upgrades, while high-potential enterprises will receive catalytic support such as packaging assistance, access to e-commerce platforms and infrastructure improvements in Tambisan and Kudat, along with maintenance of ageing landing jetties.
