The state government will establish a taskforce to accelerate development of the Gunung Sadok Agropolitan Project, specifically on charting its direction, strategies, business model and action plan.

The taskforce will be chaired by Deputy Chief Minister 1, YB Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas, who is also the Minister of Modernisation of Agriculture, Native Land and Regional Development.

Assistant Minister of Native Land Development, YB Datuk Roland Sagah Wee Inn said this in response to Engkilili assemblyman YB Johnical Rayong Ngipa during the 4th day of the 1st Meeting of the 2nd Term of the 18th State Legislative Assembly on 16th May, 2017.

The Gunung Sadok Agropolitan Project – encompassing an area of 295,571 hectares within Sri Aman, Betong and Sarikei Divisions – is under the purview of Ministry of Rural and Regional Development Malaysia, which handles all agropolitan projects throughout the country.

To date, only 349 hectares has been developed in the agropolitan, specifically in Ulu Awik, Saratok, for rubber plantation.

In related matters, YB Datuk Roland revealed that the Ministry of Modernisation of Agriculture, Native Land and Regional Development has set three objectives to transform the socio-economy of rural Sarawak, namely eradicating hardcore poverty by 2018 and reducing the poverty rate from 1.6 per cent to 0.8 per cent by 2020; increasing monthly household income to RM4,000 by 2020; and closing the income disparity between the rural and urban population.

To achieve these objectives, the Ministry of Modernisation of Agriculture, Native Land and Regional Development has established two special committees – Special Committee for Strategic Economic Rural Sarawak and the Divisional-level Rural Economic Transformation Committee.

The committees will be tasked with planning, coordinating and monitoring rural economic programmes and projects implemented by 31 government agencies and statutory bodies in Sarawak using the National Blue Ocean Strategy.