KOTA KINABALU: Sabah will focus on promoting premium local avocados and durians to help boost the income of rural farmers, says Datuk Jamawi Jaafar.
The Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Industries Minister said the initiative aligns with state efforts to strengthen the agro-food sector.
He said a local avocado variety, QAV1, which has been rebranded as Queen Sabah Avocado, has shown strong potential.
“The ministry will expand avocado planting assistance to Tenom, Keningau, Kota Marudu, Kudat and Ranau to help farmers take advantage of this opportunity,” Jamawi said after a media session on Friday (April 17).
He added that the Farm Kitchen Tour programme will continue alongside the Harvest Festival starting May 1 in Papar. The event will offer free vegetable seeds and up to 50% discounts on fruit trees, livestock and fish fry.
“This is to encourage locals to increase household income by planting and rearing livestock at home,” he said, noting that 25 yield centres have been activated across all parliamentary zones to improve market access.
A digital application will also be launched soon to help identify farm supply and streamline marketing. Jamawi said the Sabah Agriculture Marketing Authority (SAMA) will oversee these initiatives and purchase surplus produce to prevent losses for farmers.
To address seasonal oversupply of local durians, the state plans to boost their value through grafting to produce premium varieties like Musang King and Black Thorn, which fetch significantly higher prices.
On reducing dependency on livestock feed imports, Jamawi said the state plans to open 1,000ha of commercial corn fields this year with a RM25mil allocation.
The state also aims to double rice production to 40% within five years by reactivating 3,000ha of abandoned paddy fields, including in Kota Belud and Kota Marudu.
