KOTA KINABALU – A total of RM19.2 million has been allocated under Sabah Budget 2022 for the management of rivers and beaches and mitigation of floods in the state.
Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Mohd Noor in tabling the budget yesterday said it is part of the RM92.7 million allocated to the Irrigation and Drainage Department’s (DID) supply expenditure to support the development of irrigation and drainage infrastructure.
He said another RM2.16 million has been allocated to manage hydrological infrastructure, water resources, and office construction through DID, which is under the Agriculture and Fisheries Industries Ministry.
“The state government has approved an allocation ceiling of RM68.51 million in the 12th Malaysia Plan to develop several irrigation and drainage facilities in the districts of Kota Marudu, Keningau, Sandakan, and Beaufort. For this purpose, a total of RM6.7 million has been allocated under development expenditure for next year,” Hajiji said.
The state government is also providing RM561.81 million for the agriculture sector under the budget as the largest state economic growth sector in the Sabah Maju Jaya Roadmap.
A total of RM65.09 million in supply expenditure has been allocated to the Agriculture and Fisheries Ministry.
Hajiji said the goal is to increase productivity and the quality of state agricultural products, and to ensure that self-sufficiency is increased annually through modernisation initiatives.
“The government is committed to empowering the development of the agricultural sector involving four subsectors, namely, crops, livestock, fisheries/aquaculture and rubber,” he said.
The allocation for agriculture subsectors are as follows:
Crops: A total of RM33.7 million has been allocated to development expenditure and RM79.54 million to the Agriculture Department for the implementation of programmes relating to food crop production, farm certification, crop research, and agricultural innovation, enforcement of biosecurity and plant quarantine, and the empowerment of agropreneurs.
Fisheries: A total of RM12.09 million has been allocated to development expenditure and RM24.85 million for supply expenditure for the year 2022 to increase fish production, seaweed and ornamental fish aquaculture by using new technology applications to manage resources and promote good fishery governance.
Livestock: A total of RM56.8 million has been allocated to the Veterinary Services Department for supply expenditure and RM16.32 million for development expenditure, involving the implementation of 43 programmes. The federal reimbursement allocation is RM19.5 million, comprising the implementation of seven development programmes.
Padi: The federal reimbursement allocation also provides for RM38 million to upgrade irrigation and drainage infrastructure in Kota Marudu, Trusan Sapi, Beluran, and Tambunan involving 3,584ha, to enable padi to be cultivated twice a year.
Rubber: The Sabah Rubber Industry Board (LIGS) has been given RM5.23 million for next year’s development expenditure. LIGS will continue to receive government grants amounting to RM11 million in the year 2022. The payment of Rubber Price Incentives to smallholders will be continued with an allocation of RM20 million. The board will also continue the development of plantation areas through the high-impact project New Planting and Replanting of Rubber Clusters, which involves 2,333 smallholders. In addition, LIGS will also implement the Additional Economic Activities Programme to rubber smallholders with four business areas, namely ginger, MD2 pineapple, nipah banana, and tilapia fish.
Fishermen: A total of RM7.39 million and RM8.06 million will be allocated to Korporasi Pembangunan Desa (KPD) and Korporasi Kemajuan Perikanan dan Nelayan Sabah (Ko-Nelayan), respectively. Another RM12 million in government grants has been allocated to KPD and RM9 million to Ko-Nelayan.
Meanwhile, a total of RM129.97 million is allocated for the development of industrial and trade sectors under the Industrial Development Ministry, Rural Development Ministry, and Finance Ministry.
Of this amount, a total of RM65.97 million has been allocated to the Industrial Development Ministry, including to the Industrial Development and Research Department, to implement various programmes to ensure basic infrastructure in industrial parks is conducive to attracting potential investors. – The Vibes, December 3, 2021
