IPOH, June 25 — The Perak government is hoping to attract people who have lost their jobs due to the Covid-19 pandemic to the agriculture industry in order to achieve food security.

Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Ahmad Faizal Azumu said that the pandemic, which forced all economic activities to grind to a halt, has been a valuable reminder that the country has yet to achieve full-fledged food security.

He said the government has prepared several programmes such as an urban farming project to empower the agriculture industry and at the same time help those who are jobless.

“This is among the efforts taken by the state government and I believe that agriculture is an easy industry to adopt.

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“The state government has identified that about 2,000 people have lost their jobs and there are many who have yet to be employed.

“We are planning to open up land for them in order for them to start farming,” he said after launching the Perak Green Earth Programme at his Office in the State Secretariat Building here.

“We have to ramp up urban farming in cities and towns like Ipoh, Taiping and Kampar in order to be self-sustaining,” he added.

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Ahmad Faizal said the urban farming project is targeting 140 entrepreneurs with an allocation of 283.28 hectares of land throughout Perak.

Among the other projects and schemes offered by the state are a pineapple agriculture scheme, Perak Agriculture Integrated Valley’s (PAIV) agriculture entrepreneur scheme, Senggang graduate farming entrepreneur pilot project scheme and financial assistant without interest or grant (PPPNP) entrepreneur development programme.

He also said that the state had allocated RM0.79 million for the Green Earth Package kit, which will allow 11,081 households to start their own ‘kitchen garden’ or vegetable and fruit farm at their houses.