Mawan (seated left) and guests during a ‘miring’ ceremony.

SARATOK: The state government’s transformation plan is focused on the needs of rural folk.

Social Development Minister Tan Sri William Mawan said a field that was taken seriously by the Barisan Nasional (BN) government was agriculture, which would be developed into a high-scale level and geared towards an industrial concept.

“The government has seen how this field has a wide scope and the potential to be developed. Therefore, the government has decided to allocate a large allocation for this field. It will channel the allocation to those in the agriculture sector.

“At the same time, it is also the government’s strategy to change the way agriculture is practised by the rural folk so they can progress further,” he said at the Commercial Agriculture and Modernisation Seminar at Rumah Masing in Mudong here on Saturday.

Around 150 Rubber Scheme Project participants from Mudong area attended the seminar, organised by Betong Agriculture Department.

Mawan, who is also Saratok MP, said the programme was a great opportunity for participants and communities involved in the agriculture field to increase their knowledge so as to realise the government’s mission in intensifying the ‘Good Agricultural Practices’ concept in the agriculture sector.

“We are confident that when this project is successful, we can help the rural folk out of poverty in stages.

“Through this quantum leap of socio-economy, we are also confident that it will bring forth more impacts in terms of education advancement, infrastructure development and so on.”

At the ceremony, Mawan also launched the Rural Electric Supply project for Mudung area worth RM3.5 million.

He also announced a grant of RM30,000 to Rumah Masing village security and development committee.