PAPAR, April 21 — The Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Ministry (Kuskop) has allocated RM100 million to finance cooperatives in the agro-food sector.
Its minister Datuk Ewon Benedick said the financing, provided via the Revolving Capital Fund and managed by the Cooperative Commission of Malaysia (SKM), is an initiative by the government through Kuskop to help address the nation's food supply and security.
"Therefore, I encourage the community to establish their local cooperatives to engage in activities such as farming, animal husbandry, plantations, and other agro-food sector activities.
"Cooperatives involved in the agro-food sector can help support the country's food supply chain and food security," he said in a statement after visiting a chicken farming site developed by Koperasi Kinabalu Lestari Berhad (Kokina) in Kinarut today.
Ewon said the company began constructing a broiler chicken barn at RM450,000, funded by its members' shares, which is expected to begin the first rearing cycle in July.
"That is why I would like to offer RM100,000 in financing assistance under the Start-up Financing Scheme (SuFi-1) to Kokina as a show of support for this cooperative enterprise," he said.
Meanwhile, SKM registered 1,001 new cooperatives in 2023, marking a record for the most registrations in a single year.
The minister added that Kuskop and its agencies, including SKM, are ready to assist cooperatives, especially those already in business, in expanding their operations.
— Bernama
