Sabah government allocates RM10 million for irrigation upgrades

The Sabah State Government has allocated RM10 million to upgrade the irrigation system in the Poguokon-Lagud Seberang area. This project aims to benefit over 100 rice farmers by addressing issues such as sedimentation and damaged pumps that have hindered the irrigation of approximately 300 hectares of paddy fields.

Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Datuk Jamawi Jaafar stated that the Department of Irrigation and Drainage (JPS) Sabah requested the funds, which have recently been tendered. In addition to the Poguokon project, the government is upgrading water pumps in Makakumpai, an area that has been unable to plant rice for over a decade due to system failures.

Other agricultural infrastructure developments include a completed RM250,000 dam in Kalang and three approved dams in Melalap, valued at RM200,000 each, to support roughly 250 acres of paddy fields. Furthermore, RM7 million has been designated for urban drainage control systems and RM2.5 million for soil erosion prevention at the Murut Cultural Centre in Tenom.