Uggah: New agriculture devt initiative to start next year

KUCHING: The state’s new agriculture development initiative, funded under a RM100-million venture capital, will be implemented next year.

Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah said a government- owned company is now finalising the mechanism on how to implement it and so on.

He said the venture capital was a new approach to help farmers develop their land.

He said previously, the government had undertaken several initiatives to help landowners to develop their land, including those under native customary rights ( NCR).

Among them, he noted, are Salcra and Risda, which have their own model, and the government subsidy scheme.

“We realised the level of failure in the subsidy programme is very high. There is a lot of abuse in the subsidy. That is why the Chief Minister said let’s try venture capital, where we also provide capital to a group of people.

“Under this new model, the government- owned company that manages the venture capital will hand-hold the landowners, not going to be one but a group of them, which is big enough for the professional management to take care of that project,” he said.

Uggah, who is Minister of Modernisation of Agriculture, Native Land and Regional Development, hoped the venture capital could also complement the subsidy.

He said under the new initiative, the company would take up equity in the agriculture production projects that are to be implemented.

He said once the projects are commercially viable and making money, the company would sell its equity and let the various stakeholders, whocouldbe farmers, landowners and investors, run the projects on their own.

“This is one of the transformations that are taking place in the agriculture sector in Sarawak.

“This is an alternative of assisting our farmers and landowners, especially smallholders, who may not have the capital to invest in the sector,” he said.

Uggah said the RM100-million venture capital or seed fund was announced by Chief Minister Datuk Amar Abang Johari Tun Openg early this year.

“With the implementation of this new initiative, it is hoped that, when the project is successful in bringing good returns to the landowners, it will raise the income of the people and eventually eradicate poverty,” he said.

We realised the level of failure in the subsidy programme is very high. There is a lot of abuse in the subsidy. That is why the Chief Minister said let’s try the venture capital, where we also provide capital to a group of people. Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah, Deputy Chief Minister