KOTA KINABALU – The Sabah government has allocated RM20 million for the payment of rubber price incentives in the state Budget 2022 to help smallholders and rubber tappers in the state, said Chief Minister Datuk Hajiji Mohd Noor.
He said through the incentive, smallholders will be given an additional RM0.25 per kg for thick rubber, while the Sabah Rubber Industry Board (LIGS) contributed a subsidy of RM0.05 per kg, to make up the additional price of RM0.30 per kg next year.
Hajiji said in the 2022 Budget, LIGS had been allocated RM5.23 million for development expenditure apart from receiving government grants of RM11 million.
“LIGS will also continue the development of estate areas through the high impact project programme for new planting and rubber replanting in groups involving 2,333 smallholders.
“(This is) apart from implementing the additional economic activity programme for rubber smallholders with four areas of business, namely ginger, MD2 pineapple, nipah banana and tilapia fish farming,” he said in a statement today.
Hajiji, who is also Sabah finance minister, said the state government through LIGS would distribute Monsoon Season Aid (BMT) amounting to RM51,793,800 to 86,323 smallholders in the state with a grant of RM600 for each smallholder.
He said various assistance were also given, including Sabah Prihatin Assistance 1.0 to 3.0 as a one-time payment, which reached more than RM353 million apart from providing food baskets to all affected people, including rubber smallholders since the end of last year.
In fact, the federal government has approved BMT to all rubber smallholders in the country, especially in Sabah, to ease their burden.
“With the assistance provided by the state and federal governments, I call on smallholders to continue to improve their rubber production productivity.
“The BMT is one of the government’s efforts to help smallholders and rubber tappers affected by the monsoon season and the Covid-19 pandemic," he said. – Bernama, December 12, 2021
