THE Rural and Regional Development Ministry has been asked to identify suitable land, including idle plots, for coconut cultivation through large-scale food security projects, such as those in agricultural areas in Sungai Sembrong Kiri, Kluang, Johor, said Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

Zahid, who is also rural and regional development minister, said the expected output of raw coconut from the project is 600 tonnes per year, with an income approximately RM483,000 per year, while the expected output of coconut milk is 180 tonnes per year, with an estimated income of RM1.4 million per year.

“(My ministry) gives full support to the programme carried out by the unity government to strengthen the country’s food security and ease the costs of living, especially for the rural population,” he said in a statement issued after chairing the ministry’s top management meeting in Putrajaya today.

Zahid said the Rural Development Policy 2030 outlined several strategies to enhance the role of rural areas in boosting the country’s food security.

Among them was the Integrated Village Economic Development Project, which optimised the development of idle land in villages, by developing niche products and expanding them to create a large-scale economy, he said. – Bernama, October 4, 2023.