State to develop plantation land for 6,000 hardcore poor

KEMAMAN (The Star): The Terengganu government will no longer give land to federal government agencies for estate or oil palm plantations as the state is now short of vacant land.

Mentri Besar Datuk Ahmad Said said the state wanted to develop existing vacant land into people’s planatations to help the 6,000 hardcore poor.

“We have begun to prepare sites for oil palm planting on 3,200 hectares of land in Dungun and 2,400 hectares in Setiu are to process logged products.

“Another 2,400-hectare site in Dungun is being identified for oil palm planting to help the hardcore poor,” he said after a Felcra Berhad Project groundbreaking ceremony at Kampung Lubuk Dalam 4, Kijal near here yesterday.

Ahmad said the state government had set aside an allocation of RM100mil to open up 2,000 hectares of plantations to help the hardcore poor earn at least RM750 per family.

The Felcra oil palm project in Kampung Lubuk Dalam 4 measuring about 648 hectares is the 217th Felcra project in Tereng-ganu to benefit 300 people, especially single mothers. — Bernama