Kota Kinabalu: The Sabah Padi and Rice Board (LPBS) is actively working to revive 22,146 hectares of idle padi fields across the state, as reported to the State Legislative Assembly today.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, Assistant Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Industry Datuk Peto Galim highlighted that the abandoned fields suffer from inadequate irrigation systems. LPBS has initiated multiple strategies to restore these fields to function as local suppliers of padi and rice. Kota Belud holds the largest portion of idle padi land with 8,652 hectares, followed by Kota Marudu, Keningau, Tuaran, Papar, and Tambunan. To facilitate effective management, a padi development and management committee has been established in each district, led by LPBS board members. The ministry is also enhancing farmers’ skills through agricultural technology training provided by the Sabah Agriculture Department.

In response to a question from Datuk Annuar Ayub (GRS-Liawan) regarding the state’s efforts to augment local agricultural output, the assistant minister detailed these initiatives.

Meanwhile, Assistant Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation Datuk Harun Durabi addressed a query from Calvin Chong (PH-Elopura) concerning support for secondary school students pursuing higher education. The initiatives include a RM125 million allocation this year under the Sabah State Government Scholarship (BKNS), up from RM113.17 million last year. This effort aims to sponsor more Sabahans in STEM fields both domestically and internationally. Additional support includes one-off financial assistance through the BUDI initiative for students entering higher education and free laptops for needy students under the Bantuan Ihsan Komputer (BAIK) programme.