GOPENG, May 31 — The Perak government is urging the people in the state to grow vegetables and rear livestock for their own consumption due to the current shortage of food supply.
Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Saarani Mohamad said this could be among the initiatives taken to reduce the burden of rising cost of living due to the spike in the price of agriculture products and livestock meat such as chicken and mutton while the surplus could be sold.
“That’s why I have been campaigning at various places in the state on this so that what we want to eat, we plant or breed the produce ourselves so as not to rely so much on imports.”
He said this to reporters after attending the Agrofest programme of the Perak State Agriculture Development Corporation (SADC) with its chief executive officer Yahanis Yahya also present at The Treasure @ Taman Herba Gopeng today.
In his speech earlier, Saarani said to boost food security, the Perak SADC with the cooperation of the State Agriculture Department would be developing the Manong Agrotechnology Park project in Kuala Kangsar on 40 hectares of land.
This was decided upon at the Perak SADC board of directors meeting in April.
“The SADC has also started the Perak Halal Hub project to further boost food security and provide employment while helping the state government generate economic opportunities for the people,” said Saarani. — Bernama