BUTTERWORTH, Oct 28 (Bernama) — The Federal Agricultural Marketing Authority (FAMA) aimed to produce 330,000 metric tonnes of agricultural products with a sales value of USD 220 million under the contract farming programme next year.
FAMA director general Datuk Ahmad Ishak said the agency also planned to increase the farm acreage to 7,500 ha with the involvement of 4,500 participants in 2014, compared to 5,434 ha this year.
“For this year, 3,199 participants are involved and as at Sept 30, production was 245,662 mt with a sales value of RM491 million.
“Sales has reached 74.4 per cent of our USD 220 million target this year and I believe the participants can reach that,” he told reporters after the presentation of contract farming incentives here Monday.
Thirty-six participants from Penang received RM10,000 in the form of a RM5,000 grant from FAMA and the rest from the National Entrepreneurial Group Economic Fund (Tekun).
Ahmad said the agency was also drawing up a few strategies to empower the contract farming programme and assist the government in countering the rising cost of essential items.
He also said the agency would introduce a special contract farming programme for the production of fruits and vegetables for export next year.
“The fruits include water melon, star fruit, papaya, pineapple, durian, jackfruit, pomelo and guava, which are in demand by other countries,” he said.
Source: Bernama