KUALA LUMPUR – The Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security may reject applications for fishing licenses in coastal areas to maintain the sustainability of fisheries supply.
Deputy agriculture minister, Datuk Chan Foong Hin said this is to avoid overfishing in Zone A and B, which are the areas that are less than 12 nautical miles from the coastal area.
He said the ministry would look into applications on a case-by-case basis, but may not be able to approve applications for fishing licenses in those two zones.
It is also to encourage fishermen to move to other zones further from the coastal areas, as the number of fishermen in Zone A and Zone B is now reaching the optimum level, he added.
Chan (Kota Kinabalu-PH) was answering a supplementary question from Khoo Poay Tiong (PH-Kota Melaka), who raised the complaints of residents in Pantai Kundur, Tangga Batu, that their applications for fishing licenses were not approved by the ministry.
Earlier, Chan spoke about several of the ministry’s fisheries management programmes to ensure protein sources are secure.
On a separate development, Chan said that the ministry has been offering various programmes to encourage young entrepreneurs to enter the agriculture sector, especially in smart and modern farming.
Among them, the National Agriculture Skills Training Programme involves 10 courses, offered to youths aged 18 to 25 who would receive Sijil Kemahiran Malaysia and Diploma Kemahiran Malaysia certification in 15 certified institutions nationwide.
“The obstacles that we face (in promoting smart and modern agriculture) is how do we paint the narrative to the youths to show that agriculture is a sector that is modern and would lead to a successful future so that they would want to be involved in this sector.”
Chan also said the ministry is offering RM20,000 as part of the Young Agropreneur Grant for infrastructure, system, and technological equipment needed for modern farming.
When asked if the ministry has plans to increase the financial incentive related to this grant, Chan said the ministry welcomed such a suggestion but believed that the ministry has other programmes that would assist agro-entrepreneurs in other aspects of their businesses.
“We still believe that we should guide them (young entrepreneurs) to become independent and not to rely solely on government’s grants,” he added. – October 25, 2023