PUTRAJAYA, July 6 — Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has called on departments and agencies under the Rural and Regional Development Ministry (KKDW) to step up efforts in ending rural poverty by ensuring the effectiveness of every plan and programme being carried out for the rural population.

The Deputy Prime Minister, who is also KKDW Minister, said that more efforts are needed in line with the target set by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in eradicating hardcore poverty at all levels.

"I hope that the (KKDW) agencies will work on this, but the poor in urban areas or urban poverty must not be ignored. However, let the other agencies handle that.

"We take care of KKDW, implement and achieve the target set by the Prime Minister,” he said in his speech at KKDW monthly assembly here today.

Ahmad Zahid also advised KKDW staff members to implement programmes that have been planned and to ignore criticism of anti-establishment groups.

"These anti-establishment groups are everywhere. They must have something to oppose and will never stop even when something good emerges,” he said.

Meanwhile, Ahmad Zahid urged two KKDW agencies, namely Felcra Bhd and South Kelantan Development Authority (Kesedar) to improve their existing collaboration to produce one million broilers per cycle compared to the current 250,000.

"I challenge this collaboration to produce one million chickens every production cycle, it can definitely be done, but they need to find the method to do it,” he said.

Earlier, Felcra and Kesedar took the initiative to collaborate to develop a closed poultry farming project in Paloh 4, Gua Musang with a capacity of 250,000 broilers per cycle.

The project generates various local economic activities such as service and maintenance, landscaping, supply chain, construction, contract jobs and so forth. — Bernama