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TELUPID: Sabah’s Trusan Sapi paddy scheme could be expanded from 800 hectares to 3,000 hectares with improved irrigation, boosting the state’s rice self-sufficiency level (SSL), said Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Industry Minister Datuk Jamawi Jaafar.

“Some 2,200 hectares are still available. If irrigation is upgraded, we can increase production,” he said during a visit on Thursday.

He noted that every additional 1,000 hectares could raise SSL by five percentage points. Sabah’s current SSL is about 20 per cent, far below the 65 per cent national target.

Jamawi said developing idle paddy land statewide could lift SSL to around 40 per cent by 2030, but stressed the need for modern machinery and sufficient processing capacity.

Sabah currently spends about RM1 billion annually on rice imports, mainly from Vietnam and Thailand, he added.