KOTA KINABALU: The fourth Agricultural Products Collection Centre (APCC) run by the Rural Development Corporation (KPD) was officially opened on Monday at Kampung Wasai, about 8km from Telupid town.
The centre is part of KPD’s long-term plan to build six such APCCs throughout Sabah for a total cost of RM13,206,320. The other three completed APCCs are APCC Kundasang, APCC Kota Marudu and APCC Beaufort with two more in Keningau and Lahad Datu nearing completion.
In his speech, Agriculture and Fisheries Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Dr Jeffrey Kitingan said the APCC Telupid is the best alternative for local farmers to market their products aside from the weekly Tamu in the district.
“Currently, agricultural activities in the Telupid district and surrounding areas under the coordination of the KKPD include marketing programmes for buying and selling fresh oil palm bunches (FFB), oil palm plantations and oil palm seed nursery activities.
“In addition, the activity of buying and selling various agricultural products has been carried out for a long time but on a small scale due to a lack of facilities for the activity.
“It is expected that with the completion of this APCC and when fully operational with a more planned marketing system, buying and selling activities will expand, the quantity of agricultural produce will increase and more farming communities will benefit from them,” he said.
So far, 237 agricultural entrepreneurs have registered with KPD to sell their products at the centre.
Telupid is well-known for its high quality agricultural products which include Sabah bananas, swiftlets birds nest, pineapples, seasonal local fruits and a variety of vegetables.
Additionally, since KPD is also an agent for selling cooking oil and rice, the facilities at APCC Telupid are hoped to help the agency by providing larger storage spaces for the items.
Kitingan urged local farmers to utilise the facilities in the APCC Telupid to get more competitive prices rather than competing to see whose products could be sold at the lowest price in Tamu.
“Tamu should not be a place where we sell our products at a loss. Farmers should be able to sell their products and make a profit. Unfortunately, many sellers are forced to reduce their prices just so they can attract some customers.
“If this is their issue, I would suggest that they register with the APCC Telupid and try to sell their products here instead. I am confident that KPD will give them fair prices based on the grades of their products,” he said.
To help with the marketing of the products brought there, all APCCs are equipped with KPD Smart System which updates the stocks automatically and allows for online transactions.
The system also enables KPD to forecast the types of products and their quantities at any given time, allowing them to create more effective marketing campaigns.- pr/BNN
