by David E.
KOTA KINABALU: Sept 21, 2026 — The handover of 75 units of various types of agricultural machinery to the Sabah Paddy and Rice Board (LPBS) is expected to drive mechanisation and restructure the state’s paddy cultivation industry.
Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Industry Datuk Jamawi Jaafar said the ploughing and harvesting machines would encourage farmers to continue paddy farming.
“The assistance of 75 ploughing and harvesting machines gives our farmers the spirit to continue paddy cultivation,” he said after officiating the handover ceremony at the Kota Kinabalu Industrial Park (KKIP) last Friday.
He thanked Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Haji Noor for approving a special allocation for the needs of Sabah’s farmers and paddy growers.
He said the Mini Estate scheme was introduced this year to cultivate long-abandoned paddy fields. Six companies had signed memorandums of understanding (MoUs) with landowners and were cultivating the land under the Mini Estate model, while 19 companies were still under evaluation.
“There are still about 15,000 acres of paddy land that have been abandoned and left unplanted for eight to 10 years,” he said.
Jamawi said that if these areas were cultivated through Mini Estate and with the aid of new machinery, the government was confident that Sabah’s paddy and rice self-sufficiency level (SSL) could be raised to at least 30 per cent within five years.
“If we can increase yield per hectare, it will be more than 30 per cent,” he said.
According to him, six LPBS paddy granary areas have been identified to benefit from mechanisation, with Kota Belud the main focus because of its large paddy fields of about 8,000 acres.
Farmers need to develop the areas in an orderly manner before aid is provided, while the new approach includes technology transfer and joint service centres with supplier companies.
He said the Ministry of Economy, Ministry of Agriculture and Ministry of Food Security had informed that the Finance Minister had agreed to help LPBS in Mini Estate paddy development and in increasing paddy yield per acre. A follow-up meeting will be held in Putrajaya on Sept 21.
