SABAH and Sarawak are the least cooperative states when it comes to improving food security, said Nik Muhammad Zawawi Salleh.

“We are most disappointed that the states with the fewest registered farmers with federal agencies come from Sabah and Sarawak,” the deputy agriculture and food industries minister told parliament today.

“The federal government wants to help the farmers but they don’t register with the federal agencies.”

He said federal agencies trying to boost the agriculture sector in the two states also faced similar problems.

“Sarawak, for instance, doesn’t allow federal agencies to enter the state while Sabah won’t even let the Malaysian Pineapple Industry Board in.

“We are having meetings with the states but it’s hard,” said the Pasir Puteh MP.

Nik Muhammad was responding to Tiong King Sing’s (Bintulu-GPS) supplementary question on the progress of meetings between the federal government and the state government to improve food security.

As food prices soar, the government has set up food security committees at state and district levels to execute the National Food Security Policy Action Plan 2021-2025.

A key part of the plan is to increase the area for agriculture by gazetting agricultural land as reserves under section 62 of the National Land Code and then leasing it them out for 10 to 21 years.

Responding to Nik Muhammad, the Sarawak MP said the federal agencies need to be more open.

“(Federal agencies should) not want to control everything,” said Tiong, on why Sarawak has refused to not let federal agencies into the state. – July 26, 2022.