Move to get youngsters to venture into agriculture
SEPANGGAR: The Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry, under the leadership of the new State Government may consider revamping some of its policies in its bid to encourage more young people to venture into the agriculture industry.
Its assistant minister, Dr Daud Yusof said most of the farmers in the state were between 50 and 60 years old and some of them were retirees who had just started getting into the agriculture business.
“I would like to once again urge all farmers to encourage their children to venture into this (agriculture) field,” Daud told reporters when met during his ministry’s visit at the Federal Agriculture Marketing Authority’s (Fama) Marketing Complex on Thursday.
He opined that the lack of young people in the agricultural industry could be attributed to the fact that the State Government would only usually give financial aid to farmers who possess their own land.
“Most of our young people do not own land, so these are some of things that we need to think about. We (the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry) ask families to encourage their children to venture into this industry. If possible, we should change this current policy,” Daud said.
He said that more discussions and research should be conducted to further study this proposal, adding that people from as young as SPM leavers should be exposed to this industry.
He also said that the agriculture industry could provide more job opportunities, thus decreasing the unemployment rate of the state, especially among the youth.
Meanwhile Fama Sabah director Ribin Wahid revealed that the body had engaged with the state’s institutions of higher learning (IPTs) such as Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) and Politeknik Kota Kinabalu (PKK).
Ribin explained that Fama had established clubs in these IPTs aimed at providing the students with knowledge on agriculture industry before they graduate.
Commenting on the other issues brought up during briefing earlier, Daud concluded that the lack of proper infrastructure remains to be one of the most pressing issues for the state’s agriculture industry.
In this regard, Daud disclosed that the various agencies under the State Government had already been tasked to look into the matter as many of the state’s farmers had voiced their complaints.
It is understood that many of the farmers find it difficult to transport their goods to the urban areas as there are currently no proper road or bridges in certain parts of the state.
“We will bring up this issue to the relevant bodies, especially the Public Works Department,” Daud added.
On the storage of agricultural products issue, Daud said Fama should be conducting more research on finding methods to ensure that these products can be kept properly before they being distributed to the market.
As a potential solution to the issue, Daud suggested the construction of a proper storage area in each of the districts in Sabah.
“For example, we can build a temporary storage area in Kudat or in other districts. I think that we can further discuss this issue together (with the other relevant ministries and agencies),” he said.