RM26m for rubber replanting

LUNDU -The Rubber Industry Smallholders Development Authority (RISDA) has targeted to replant 5,000 ha of old rubber plantations in Sarawak with the latest high-yield rubber clones this year.

Chairman Tan Sri Rahim Tamby Chik said the agency had allocated RM26.5 million, the largest amount in history, for the replanting programme.

The funds is part of the RM397 million allocation to the state by RISDA for various smallholders development programme.

“In Sarawak, RISDA is assisting 112,259 small holders whose rubber acreage account for 157,163 ha,” said Rahim during a replanting and fertiliser distribution ceremony at Kampung Sebat Melayu in Sematan, about 120 km from Kuching.

He said between 2009 and last year, RISDA had approved RM18 million worth of financial assistance for replanting and other agricultural programmes.