KOTA KINABALU: Agropreneurs are encouraged to develop more environmentally friendly products in line with the government’s policy to promote good agricultural practices in Sabah.

Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Dr Jeffrey Kitingan said products such as organic pest control would reduce the use of chemical pesticides.

“The use of chemical pesticides has been proven to be dangerous not only to the health of consumers but also to the soil in the long run,” he said when speaking at the virtual launch of the Farm Tokou today.

Farm Tokou is a privately held company established in 2018, specialising in modern agriculture and livestock farming.

The company produces organic vegetables and freshwater lobsters as well as providing agricultural and livestock farming input in Sabah.

Kitingan, the Agriculture and Fisheries Minister, said sustainable farming by startups such as Farm Tokou would inspire young people in Sabah to pursue entrepreneurial opportunities in the agricultural sector and other local industries.

“The government has provided a variety of incentives to encourage agropreneurs to contribute their ideas and efforts in order to help take our agricultural industry to the next level.

“Among these is the Bantuan Agropreneur Muda programme run by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry, which provides eligible agropreneurs with a monetary grant of up to RM20,000 seed money.

“The scopes also include agro-tourism, support, and logistics, which I believe we in Sabah can benefit from.

“I strongly encourage our Sabahan youths to apply for this grant and other grants provided by the government to assist them with their businesses,” he said.

Source: Sabah MAFI