PUTRAJAYA: The government will introduce an estate farming model to increase income of smallholders in rural areas, said Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
Through the model, he said, land belonging to smallholders would be merged and managed professionally like an estate to increase agriculture produce.
“We will identify areas where the smallholdings can be merged and managed as an estate.
“We know that rubber estates are not so large. The small plots of land (belonging to smallholders), if merged, will be bigger than an estate, but the estates produce more rubber than the smallholders,” he said.
Dr Mahathir told this to reporters after launching the Rural Development Policy at the Putrajaya International Convention Centre here today.
Also present were Rural Development Minister Datuk Seri Rina Mohd Harun and her deputy, R. Sivarasa.
-BERNAMA
