SIBU, Jan 24 — Sarawak is confident of achieving its rural poverty eradication target by 2020.

Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas said various economic enhancement programmes for the hard-core poor and needy community would be implemented this year through 31 agencies coordinated by the respective Resident Offices of the 12 divisions in the state.

"This economic enhancement programme for the poor and hard-core poor which will be implemented by state and federal government agencies are not restricted to agricultural activities or only those who own land,” he said.

In fact, he said, the programme also involved non-agricultural activities to assist the poor that did not own land, such as providing them sewing machines or food processing machines through the 1Azam programme.

He told reporters this after a presentation session by the Sarawak Central Zone Rural Economy Transformation Committee which also involved the resident offices of Sibu Division, Mukah Division, Sarikei Division and Kapit Division here, yesterday.

Uggah who is the Rural Economy Transformation Committee chairman said every programme to be carried out this year aimed to improve the income of the poor to RM4,000 per household.

The Sarawak Minister of Modernisation of Agriculture and Rural Economy also said the ministry had set aside RM122 million to assist the poor who are involved in various agricultural activities.

Aside from that, he said, focus would be given to preparation of marketing infrastructure not only in terms of collection centres for agricultural produce but also semi processing centres for downstream activities.

He said the state government was also looking into forming anchor farms that could support the smallholders, including exporting their products overseas.

In Sarawak, the rural poverty rate is currently 1.6 per cent as against the urban poverty rate of 0.5 per cent. — Bernama