KUALA LUMPUR, May 27 — The Rural Development Ministry (KPLB) is committed to strengthening the country’s food security at all levels of the food chain by channelling an allocation of RM368.37 million to Felcra Berhad to strengthen the agriculture and livestock sectors.
Its Minister Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid said a total of RM339.14 million would be used to improve infrastructure, cover the cost of raw materials and upgrade technology while the rest would be used for internal expenditure.
He added that an additional RM60 million from the 12th Malaysia Plan (12MP) and Rolling Plan 2022 would be used to expand the capacity of the livestock feed processing plant in Rompin, Pahang.
He said the project was to optimise the basic ingredients for local feed and develop a ‘concentrate’ factory and a ‘silage’ factory to fulfil the requirements of a Full Value Chain.
“The project has been implemented and is underway. This initiative is one of the measures to address the rising cost of livestock, so Felcra took this approach to boost production of livestock feed,” he said at a press conference at the Felcra Mesra Aidilfitri ceremony at Wisma Felcra here today.
Meanwhile, Mahdzir said Felcra Processing Engineering Sdn Bhd was also improving the operation of its factory to increase production of Suri brand palm oil-based coconut milk substitute from 30 tonnes to 60 tonnes per month to meet domestic needs.
“So far, Felcra has two palm oil milk production factories, one in Terengganu and the other in Perak,” he said.
At the same ceremony, he also presented mock cheques of RM3,000 each to five welfare institutions, Abu Ubaidah Al Jarrah Mosque, Surau Jumaat Muhajirin Desad Rejang, Rumah Bakti Al Kausar, Rumah Perlindungan AL-Haq and Madrasatul Faridiyah in Setapak Jaya. — Bernama
