SERDANG, May 11 — Agriculture and Food Security Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Sabu today announced that the Direct Sales From Farms (JTDL) programme under the Federal Agricultural Marketing Authority (Fama) will be rebranded as Jualan Agro Madani (JAM).

This year, Fama will also increase the number of JAM programmes offered and his ministry will widen the scope of the programme involving outlet farmers under the Farmers’ Organisation Authority (LPP) and farmers’ markets under the Fisheries Development Authority of Malaysia (LKIM), he said.

"The purchase results (of the JAM programme) were afterwards distributed through 1,548 Fama retail outlets nationwide,” he said in his speech at his ministry’s open house event for Hari Raya Aidilfitri.

Mohamad Sabu, popularly known as Mat Sabu, also spoke on the financial aid given to fishermen and paddy and rice farmers under his ministry, saying that aid totalling RM1.62 billion will go to these groups in light of the current cost of living crisis.

Among the initiatives include subsidies and incentives for the paddy and rice industry totalling RM1.62 billion and financial aid of RM200 per month for three months which will benefit 240,000 paddy farmers nationwide with an allocation totalling RM228 million.

The ministry will also continue the sea fishermen’s subsistence allowance (ESHN) of RM300 each month for Malaysian citizens who own vessels in Zone A and workers in Zones A, B, C and C2, he said.

The ESHN of land fishermen will also be continued at the rate of RM250 per month, he added.

His ministry is also working on implementing the special fishermen’s housing project to develop the resettlement of fishermen, he said.

Alongside that, his ministry will implement special aid payments through Padiberas Nasional Bhd (Bernas) to paddy farmers in Kedah, Perlis, Penang and Selangor, he added.

Fama had also held its Ramadan Madani Sales Programme at 268 selected locations nationwide involving 13,555 entrepreneurs and the programme had netted RM20.14 million in sales, he added.

He further referred to the one-off special Aidilfitri aid that he announced last month, saying that it has benefited 240,000 paddy farmers and 38,500 fishermen nationwide.

He went on to thank those working in his ministry for their hard work in ensuring that the supply of food was adequate throughout the fasting period up to the festive season following Hari Raya Aidilfitri until today.