Yahya presenting a souvenir to excellent trainee, D. Susette Semuil witnessed by Raime (right) and Basrun (second left).
Six of the trainees who completed specialized training programs dressed in the traditional Japanese women’s attire – kimono.
TENOM: Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Haji Yahya Hussin pointed out that the government is serious about developing the agricultural sector in the state and this commitment is reflected in the State Budget for 2014.
He said the government’s approach encouraged creative and innovative efforts towards transforming the existing agricultural sector to continue as a major contributor to economic growth.
“All departments and agencies, including the KPD have been given funding to implement their own programs, particularly to reduce food imports,” he said when officiating at the graduation ceremony of KPD-OISCA International Youth Training Centre in Lagud Seberang here yesterday.
Yahya said that at present, only about 25 per cent of the subsistence needs are met because the cost of rice production is higher than the price of imported rice from abroad.
He said that although the state had difficulty providing enough food, especially rice, the government has not abandoned this program in order to meet the country’s food supply policy.
Yahya, who is also Minister of Agriculture and Food Industry, said the agricultural sector is the largest contributor to Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
He said the contribution of the agricultural sector was estimated to be 21 per cent of the country’s GDP, estimated at RM44.4 billion.
“At the national level, in Budget 2014, a total of RM6 billion has been allocated by the federal government to accelerate the growth of the agricultural sector to a higher level in order to remain relevant as one of the engines of economic growth in 2020,” he said.
He said the government’s priority is to improve the efficiency of the agricultural sector along the value chain to be more productive, competitive and knowledge-intensive.
“For us in Sabah, next year the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry (MAFI) as the ministry responsible for the agriculture sector, we received a development allocation of RM139.9 million, the highest allocation after the Chief Minister’s Department and the Ministry of Infrastructure Development.
“The share of higher provision reflects the importance of the agricultural sector as a key driver of the state economic growth,” he said.
Yahya said his ministry will strive to create a group of human capital that is smart and informative through agriculture training centers available throughout the state.
Touching on the Agrofood National Policy (2011-2020), he said this will not only focus on formal training long-term, but also on upgrading skills informally through short term training courses also applied more frequently at all levels.
According to him, in order to provide human capital based on agricultural technocrats, empowerment of human capital should be more organized as practiced by the Rural Development Corporation at the KPD-OISCA training center in Lagud Seberang here.
He said, this was seen as a method of managing broader access to technical and vocational agriculture courses appropriate to meet the human capital needs of agriculture in the state.
“At the moment we have agricultural training institutes in Kota Belud, Lahad Datu and KPD-OISCA Youth Training Centre in Tenom, but learning places are limited to meet the demand of the agricultural sector in the state that is so dynamic,” he said.
As a solution, he called for all departments and agencies under MAFI to hold more short-term courses for existing agricultural entrepreneurs.
Yahya said the training at the KPD–OISCA centre was only the basic level of training and hoped that the trainees would continue to improve their skills in various fields as a tool that can help improve themselves, their families and contribute to economic development more effectively.
He said that they were the human capital, the most important and valuable assets of the country. For example, a country that has no natural resources but has trained human capital which has smartly managed to achieve various successes in the field of economics than a country with rich natural resources.
According to him, the wealth of natural resource can make people in a country become complacent. Natural resources can be depleted very quickly if not managed properly as in the case which happened to the tropical forest of the state some time ago .
“We need to plan for the sustainable development of human capital to enable us to optimize the economic potential of the state, particularly in developing a sustainable, competitive, modern, progressive and business-oriented agriculture sector.
“I foresee the KPD – Oisca training center as capable of generating a lot of high-caliber human capital in the formation of disciplined young farmers with a strong identity, who are hardworking, noble, skilled, productive and able to participate in the agro-based industry creatively and continue to be competitive.
“This goal is in line with the government’s intention to create a youth group and quality human capital and knowledge. This is also the government’s commitment and serious attention to the creation of human capital development programs that are productive in the state.
Yahya also said that the management of KPD is in the process of getting trainees accreditation (apprentices) from the Skills Development Department of Malaysia and if it runs smoothly the Malaysian skill certification system under the National Dual Training System (SLDN) will be applied for use in trainee education at the center after getting approval.
He added that through certification, the KPD-OISCA training center will be able to create recognized human capital to enable them to work in the plantation sector with a more lucrative salary.
He was proud the noble effort by KPD to produce trainees with skills based on interests, preferences and focus on a specific field of endeavor.
“I understand that as a start, certification skills will be introduced in the production of mushrooms, rice, oil palm, freshwater fish, poultry, goat farming and food processing.
“I hope the Malaysian Skills development department will provide assistance and cooperation in order to enable the skills commissioning of the center to be realized next year,” he said.
At the event, Yahya presented certificates to 41 trainees who completed their training at the center.
Also present at the event were Tenom Member of Parliament and Chairman of the Desa Group, Datuk Raime Unggi, KPD General Manager, Datu Basrun Haji Datu Mansor, the heads of state and federal government departments, officers and staff of KPD and OISCA, businessmen and parents.