KUALA NERANG, April 23 ― The Kedah Regional Development Authority (KEDA) has allocated RM6.4 million to help its 10,350 participants through the implementation of various economic activities this year.

Rural Development Minister Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid said the assistance included in the form of equipment and infrastructure as well as for entrepreneurship development programmes for agriculture, livestock and business projects.

"It also includes agriculture inputs, for example seedlings and fertilisers, agricultural machinery, building of livestock pens, machine, as well as skills courses and entrepreneurial guidance services,” he told a press conference at the KEDA buka puasa event here yesterday.

Also present at the event were KEDA chairman Datuk Dr Ku Abd Rahman Ku Ismail and general manager Kamarudin Abd Akib.

Mahdzir said economic assistance provided by KEDA were implemented through seven main programmes, namely the Community Transformation and Empowerment Programme,, Rural Farmers Agriculture Project and Padi Field Development Project.

Other programmes are the Women Entrepreneurship Programme, Entrepreneurship Development Transformation Programme, Skills Development Programme for the B40 Community and Idle Land Redevelopment Programme.

"The feedback that we received from participants shows this economic assistance is beneficial in increasing the household income between 30 to 40 per cent,” he said, adding it also helped participants come out of the poverty and bridge the income disparity between the rural and urban communities. ― Bernama