The Sarawak government will focus on providing output incentives to farmers and fishermen to drive the industry forward, said Dato Sri Dr Stephen Rundi Utom.

The Modernisation of Agriculture and Regional Development Minister said farmers and fishermen cannot continue to depend on input incentive subsidies alone.

“We must also move into output incentives based on performance. Our incentive is performance-based.

“The more you produce, the higher assistance you get. That will motivate people to produce more,” he told reporters after launching the Malaysian Agriculture Research and Development Institute’s (Mardi) Agroinvest Sarawak 2022.

Dr Rundi said if input subsidies are continued, the nation would not be able to move further.

He said is high time for the federal government to get the feedback from the people on their needs and to provide this.

According to him, this is why the state has introduced output incentives.

“To me, let them do some kind of work first, then we can give them the output incentive.

“The more they produce, the more incentive they get, especially the padi farmers, otherwise they cannot survive because the price is as such,” he explained.

Dr Rundi said the state government must allow padi farmers to produce premium rice, which could get higher prices.

He said if they produced more, the state government could double the price.

“The federal government must come up with that kind of idea,” he added.

On Putrajaya’s decision to remove subsidies for certain goods, Dr Rundi said he believed the timing was not right.

“I think we have to review the decision to forgo subsidies and so on at the moment,” he said.

It was reported that ceiling prices for chickens and chicken eggs, as well as subsidies for palm oil in 2kg, 3kg, and 5kg bottles would be discontinued from July 1.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob also announced that the government would cease subsidies for poultry farmers next month.

Source:
courtesy of THE BORNEO POST

by RINTOS MAIL

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