KOTA KINABALU: Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Dr Jeffrey Kitingan applauded the Sabah Budget tabled by the Chief Minister yesterday for its generous allocation to the agriculture sector in the State.
In a press statement today, Jeffrey who is also the Agriculture and Fisheries Minister said the RM427.08 million funds allocated to his ministry is the fourth biggest in next year’s budget, an indication of the State government’s commitment to further boost Sabah’s agriculture industry.
“We all know that agriculture is the backbone of Sabah’s economy, but we have to take it further by ensuring the people will benefit from this industry more.
“When I took over this ministry, my vision had always been to industrialise our agriculture sector and ensure Sabah will finally solve our food security problem.
“Granted, the allocation of RM102.49 million development fund is lower than we had expected, but we will overcome it by compounding that with foreign and private investments,” he said.
He said the ministry has already got in touch with a few private investors interested in investing in the agriculture industry in Sabah.
The Sabah government is also expected to spend more on the agriculture industry once the Agriculture Blueprint has been fully reviewed.
At the same time, he said he is also looking for injections from the federal coffer for projects related to the ministry, including flood mitigation projects.
Overall, Jeffrey said the State Budget is focused on the welfare and well-being of the people as the country is still reeling from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic to its economic health.-pr/BNN
