RANAU: Sabah has been allocated a total of RM3.188 billion for the implementation of 204 agriculture and food security projects from the 10th Malaysia Plan (10th Malaysia Plan 2011 to 2015) to the 13th Malaysia Plan (2026 to 2030).
Ranau Member of Parliament, Datuk Jonathan Yasin said the move shows the government’s commitment through the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (KPKM) in improving the quality of agriculture and food security, especially in Sabah.
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According to him, the Sabah Agriculture Department, Sabah Veterinary Services Department and Sabah Fisheries Department have implemented various strategic initiatives in an integrated manner throughout the Malaysia Plan period.
The implementation of these initiatives, he said, is based on the Third Sabah State Agriculture Policy (DPNS 3) and the Sabah Maju Jaya Development Plan (HTSMJ) with an emphasis on food and income security, productivity and competitiveness as well as sustainability.
“Among the initiatives that have been implemented are the development of food crops with a greater focus on industrial approaches and value chains with a focus on high-value premium crops such as Musang King durian, avocado, pineapple, J33 jackfruit, coconut, coffee, ginger, Chinese yam, sweet corn and vegetables.
“In addition, there are also other initiatives such as the development of rice crops through the Implementation of the Special Project for the Rehabilitation of Idle Paddy Fields and the Rice Variety Suitability Research and Innovation Project to identify new high-yielding rice varieties to be introduced to farmers in Sabah.
“In addition, the initiatives carried out also include the creation of 15 Permanent Food Production Parks (TKPM) as permanent and continuous food production areas under the coordination of the Federal and State Governments,” he said.
Jonathan shared the information obtained through the Dewan Rakyat Question Notice of the First Meeting, Fifth Term of the Fifteenth Parliament of 2026 which was held recently.
In the meeting, he asked the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security to state the steps that the Ministry has taken to improve the quality of agriculture and food security in the Sabah Region over the past 10 years and the next 10 years.
Meanwhile, the Ministry is also implementing the empowerment of deep-sea fisheries, where in 2021, Sabah has been given the authority to license deep-sea fisheries covering Sabah and the Federal Territory of Labuan, which allows for more planned exploration of areas exceeding 30 nautical miles from the coast.
Strengthening aquaculture through various marine and freshwater farming projects involving fish, shrimp, oysters, crabs, sea cucumbers and lobsters has also been implemented. Emphasis is also placed on biosecurity aspects and MyGAP certification to ensure food quality and safety.
Other initiatives that are also being pursued are the management and conservation of fisheries resources to enrich fisheries resources in public waters and the recovery of livestock populations as well as strengthening basic veterinary infrastructure.
He added that the modernisation of the livestock sector through the use of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology for traceability and the expansion of closed coop systems (automation); and the modernisation of the Biotechnology Centre into a sophisticated biogenetic laboratory that can produce superior local breeds through the use of Marker-Assisted Selection (MAS) technology and Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) testing have also been developed.
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