KOTA KINABALU: Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Food Industry Datuk Seri Panglima Dr Jeffrey Kitingan hosted a courtesy call from Selangor’s Exco for Infrastructure and Agriculture Ir. Izham Bin Hashim on Tuesday morning.
The meeting, which lasted an hour was centred on strengthening agricultural cooperation between Sabah and Selangor.
The ministers discussed a partnership to modernise agricultural practices in Sabah, utilising the expertise and experience of Selangor.
“This collaboration with Selangor marks an important step for Sabah in our journey to modernise our farming techniques and improve our food security,” Jeffrey said.
He further noted that Sabah is already in the process of allocating 2,000 to 5,000 hectares of land through government-linked companies for agricultural development.
“These initiatives form a crucial part of our strategy to bolster Sabah’s agricultural sector,” he added.
The meeting also addressed significant challenges in the fisheries sector, such as illegal marine products exports such as shrimps in Sabah and clams in Selangor and coral theft, emphasising the importance of sustainable marine resource management.
Recognising Sabah as a major seaweed producer, both ministers agreed on the value of mutual learning from each other’s achievements.
A visit to Selangor’s agricultural sites is also proposed for later this year to foster further collaboration.
The meeting was highly productive, and we are optimistic about this partnership bringing tangible benefits to both Sabah and Selangor,” Jeffrey said. -pr/BNN
