FOUR plots of land in Petaling Jaya have been identified for the city council’s urban-agro project to boost food security within the local community.
Petaling Jaya mayor Mohamad Azhan Md Amir said the PJ City Food Valley programme, which was supposed to start in 2022, would be implemented as soon as possible this year. However, he did not provide a time frame.
“It is a high priority for Petaling Jaya, and I personally want to see it carried out at the first opportunity,” he said after chairing the Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) full board meeting yesterday.
He said a temporary occupation licence was approved by Selangor government on Dec 14 and MBPJ was in the process of finalising a memorandum of understanding with Selangor Agricultural Development Corporation.
The four plots of land are located in Sri Damansara in PJU 9 (10.11ha), Pelangi Damansara in PJU 6 (10.11 ha), Taman Sri Manja in PJS 3 (5.66ha) and Desa Perangsang in PJS 3 (3.23ha).
Mohamad Azhan said the plots of land which were located under power transmission lines were either classified as forest reserve or state owned, but were crucially located near low-cost housing projects and had good accessibility.
“This project will optimise the usage of reserve lands that are unused, and will also have a significant role in transforming Petaling Jaya into a resilient city in terms of food security when crisis or disaster strikes,” he said.
The project will see produce tended by and supplied to the local communities as well as serve as an additional source of supply to the city council’s PJ City Food Bank.
“The state government is keen to see this programme take off and we have been told that if the project is successful, it will become the model for other local authorities to implement similar projects,” said Mohamad Azhan.
“Other objectives include providing training, creating job opportunities as well as additional income to B40 families and single mothers who live near these urban farms to meet various United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.”
The mayor also hoped to see the project become a tourist attraction besides a centre for learning as well as research and development.
On another matter, Mohamad Azhan said MBPJ was still on track to implement a two-hour parking limit in Section 52.
He, however, could not confirm if they would begin enforcing the new rules in February as previously reported.
“The by-laws have been gazetted by the state government, but we are working out the finer details with our enforcement team and legal department,” he elaborated.
