KOTA KINABALU: The government aims to boost paddy production in Tambunan next year through the promotion of double cropping practices, improvement of the irrigation system and introduction of new paddy varieties.
In a statement released here today, Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Dr Jeffrey Kitingan said currently, most of the paddy-field farming in Tambunan is still subsistence oriented and the annual yield is only about 3.6 tonnes per hectare.
“Paddy-field farming in Tambunan needs to be improved. The people are committed to farming, but they need to learn and accept new varieties of high yielding paddy.
“The number of paddy-field farmers in the district who are doing double cropping is not enough. The main problem is the lack of proper irrigation which made double or triple cropping difficult if not almost impossible.
“However, the government has already planned several projects to address this problem and I believe, soon, Tambunan’s agriculture industry could be taken to the next level,” he said.
Jeffrey, who is also the Agriculture and Food Industry Minister and Tambunan assemblyman, said Tambunan would also see the development of more sizeable grazing grounds.
Currently, he said a huge portion of grazing grounds in Tambunan had been lying idle for years and some of the 25,000 hectares have not even been gazetted as grazing grounds.
He hoped some of these idle lands would be developed and the conditions of the grazing fields be changed to be more flexible in its usage.
Meanwhile, Jeffrey who attended a briefing on Tambunan development at the Tambunan district office yesterday said the district has a lot of catching up to do especially in terms of development.
“Tambunan has a lot of potentials but we need to activate these potentials in order to develop Tambunan and improve the people’s overall income.
“This includes the promotion of other crops and integrated farming to further enhance the agriculture industry and further boost the economy.
“Furthermore, Tambunan has a big prospective in the local tourism industry. We will look into these matters and work closely with all departments to realise these potentials,” he said.-pr/BNN
