KUCHING: Work is progressing on making the Mambong constituency into a coffee area.
And its assemblyman Datuk Dr Jerip Susil who is spearheading the effort wants local residents to come on board and see to its success over the next few years.
“This is a long term plan to increase the income of local residents and we have also declared Mambong as a coffee belt,” he said, adding discussions had been with the relevant ministry and higher authorities, all of whom are on the same page.
He said this before witnessing the handing of the RTP project site for the upgrading of the Kampung Petag Multipurpose Hall from the Public Works Department (PWD) Kuching to the contractor in charge, Yuki Iriz Enterprise at Kampung Petag Multipurpose Hall, Padawan on Tuesday (Feb 8).
“We hope the locals will take the responsibility, cultivate coffee and subsequently benefit from it,” he said.
Towards this end he pointed to Kampung Petag, being among the first villages whose land has been surveyed and given land titles by the Sarawak Land and Survey Department, saying their land are assets for them to cultivate their land commercially.
“This in return would further improve the socio-economic status of the locals here,” he said.
Dr Jerip, who is also the Assistant Minister of Transport, mentioned that he had applied to the Ministry of Agriculture Modernisation, Customary Lands and Regional Development and the Sarawak Land and Survey Department to set up a coffee Collection, Processing and Packaging Center (CPPC) in Mambong.
“The location for the proposed CPPC has been identified and it is at the Bayur Growth Centre.
“It is up to the ministry and the Sarawak Land and Survey Department to approve it. For me, it should not be a problem because we need this coffee CPPC.
“This is because in the next three to four years, those who grow coffee must find a place to sell their coffee,” he said.
Overall, he said, agriculture activities would continue to be the main focus in Mambong constituency.
Dr Jerip therefore wants to get as many locals in the area as possible to be involved in the agriculture sector.
“This is in line with the state government’s Post Covid-19 Development Strategy (PCDS) 2030 announced by Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg.
“Whereby under the PCSD 2030, we want to further enhance the agriculture sector so the socio-economy of the locals can be increased,” he said.
