KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute is targeting to plant some 800 hectares worth of new crops nationwide with fruit plants like the MDUR88 durians, the Bintang Mas star fruits, and Liberica coffee under its âMardi Pilot Projectâ beginning next year until 2025.
In a statement, Mardi said they planned to launch at least 10 pilot projects a year, and those interested to participate could register themselves at state Mardi offices.
âThe Mardi Pilot Project is a technology transfer programme to farmers. It is aimed at helping them to improve their income under the seed planting programme using varieties and Mardiâs crop technology based on its research results,â said the statement.
Meanwhile, Mardi said it had held a ceremony to hand over tree seedlings and machinery to participants of the Pilot Project in Malacca, as well as Projek Rezeki Tani (Farmerâs Sustenance Project) in Kampung Serkam and Pekan Sungai Rambai in Jasin, Malacca.
During the ceremony, Pilot Project participant Zakaria Abu Bakar received MDUE-88 and D-99 durian tree seedlings while Projek Rezeki Tani participant Abdul Ghafar Abdullah, who is a âcendolâ maker, received a food processing machine for the purpose.
The event was officiated by Agriculture and Food Industries Deputy Minister l Datuk Seri Ahmad Hamzah. Mardi director-general Datuk Dr Mohamad Zabawi Abdul Ghani was also present
Programme Rezeki Tani was initially known as Projek Azam Tani until it was rebranded in 2019. The programme was designed to help in the eradication of poverty and to boost income, coordinated by the Food Industries and Agro-Based Division under the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industries (Mafi).
âThe objective of the programme is to assist participants to improve their income through the provision of economic project assistance involving activities such as production, processing, distribution, agriculture-related marketing, breeding and fisheries,ââ said the statement.
The programme is also aimed at improving the knowledge, skills and competitiveness of participants through training, as well as identifying participants with potential to head to the next level.
The statement added that participants who were chosen for both projects must be prepared to be tutored, guided and trained following the standard operating procedure as determined by Mardi from time to time in an effort to ensure that the products reached the optimum standard.
-Bernama
