KOTA KINABALU: Sabah government has allocated RM561.81 million to sustain productivity and quality of the state’s agricultural products through modernisation initiatives.

Speaking at the 12th Edition of the Livestock, Aquaculture and Agriculture (LAA Sabah)
Exhibition at the Sabah International Convention Centre (SICC) here on Aug 5, Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor said the economic growth will be driven by a faster-than-expected recovery in consumer demand, greater investor confidence, and consequently a more robust recovery in domestic economic activity.

He added Sabah is among the main exporters of fresh fish produce in Malaysia,
contributing RM2.03 billion or about 15.7 percent annually to the state’s Gross Domestic
Product.

“The State Government is focusing on downstream processing for its capture fishery into
high-quality products.

“With the Federal empowerment on deep sea fishing to the Fisheries Department of Sabah, there are huge potentials for investors to venture into deep fishing and related downstream industries,” he said.

Hajiji said the prospect remained bright for the livestock sector as further expansion and effective improvement in key strategic enablers is in sight that will enhance the value chain systems of the entire industry.

“By 2030, the population of buffalo and cattle will be 26,248 head and 148,305 head
respectively. The SSL for beef is projected to increase throughout the period until it
reaches 21.3 per cent by 2030,” he said.

“The agriculture industry is an important contributor to the Malaysian Economy by
providing rural employment, uplifting rural income and ensuring national food security. It
also acts as a catalyst and key pillar to the country’s export,” he said.

“This is also an opportune time seeing that East Malaysia itself is a growth market for
the agriculture, livestock and fishery and aquaculture,” he said, adding that Sabah,
Sarawak and Labuan have a total combined population of 6 million in 2021.

Sabah’s agriculture sector alone contributed 15.9 per cent to the State’s Gross Domestic
Product (GDP) in 2021, the third highest contribution after its services sector at 47 per
cent and mining and quarrying at 26 per cent.

On the LAA Sabah concurrently held with the Malaysia Agriculture, Horticulture &
Agrotourism (MAHA 2022), the Chief Minister believed it would serve as an invaluable
platform for participants to develop business partnerships, build new networks and to
catch up on the latest industry trends.

With the commitment and efforts of the government in transforming this sector plus the
rapid development of information technology and communication, the agriculture sector
is still promising despite some issues and challenges.

“I am confident that the agriculture sector will prevail despite some issues and
challenges and will continue to grow with the commitment and efforts of the government
in transforming this sector coupled with the rapid development of information technology
and communication,” he said.