PUTRAJAYA: The Agriculture Department aims to produce 500 contract growers through contract agreements with eight anchor companies in the field of agriculture this year, said Agriculture and Food Industry Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ronald Kiandee.
He said the companies included Syarikat Beho Supply Sdn Bhd, Exotic Star Sdn Bhd and Greenheart Farm Sdn Bhd, which will provide knowledge on agro-food to target group, as well as the direction of the sector.
He said the benefits of the programme, included in terms of increasing farm productivity, supply guarantee and high-quality products as it had the Malaysian Good Agricultural Practice (myGAP) or the Malaysian Organic (myOrganic) certification.
“This will ensure the fresh agricultural produce or food products for the domestic or international market based on mutually agreed prices,” he told a press conference after opening the ‘Business Talk: One Step to Industry’ here today.
He said 53 contract growers in Kelantan had signed forward agreements with Syarikat Beho Supply Sdn Bhd to produce watermelons for local and foreign markets.
The farmers benefit in fruit price, from 40 sen to 80 sen and up to RM1.80 per kilo according to the grade of the fruits and location of collection, he added. – Bernama
