BINTULU: The Sarawakku Sayang Agro Sales (JASS) programme, held in conjunction with Sarawak Agrofest 2025, received overwhelming response, offering essential daily goods at prices up to half lower than the market rate.
Minister of Food Industry, Commodity and Regional Development Datuk Seri Dr Stephen Rundi Utom said the initiative benefits the people by providing affordable combo packs containing rice, cooking oil, sugar, salt, and flour.
“This year, the Federal Agricultural Marketing Authority (FAMA) applied for an allocation of RM200,000 to run the programme. However, next year we will request up to RM5 million so that JASS can be expanded across the whole of Sarawak,” he said during the programme’s launch at the Mini Stage Agrotrade, Sarawak Agrofest 2025 recently.
He stressed that Sarawak cannot continue to depend on imported food due to currency fluctuations and rising global raw material prices.
Therefore, the ministry’s policy is to transform agriculture through modern technology to strengthen the state’s resilience.
As of the eighth day of Agrofest, total sales reached RM5.4 million with over 800,000 visitors, proving the effectiveness of the platform in connecting producers with consumers.
He also proposed that Bintulu remain the final venue of Agrofest after Mini Agrofest events in other divisions, given its strategic location and potential as a key attraction hub.
Dr Rundi hoped such events would inspire more youth to venture into modern agriculture, in line with the government’s Post Covid-19 Development Strategy (PCDS) 2030 goal of raising farming community household incomes to RM15,000 a month.
