SHAH ALAM, 1 Oct: The State Government will formulate am Urban Agriculture (UA) concept in a series of meetings involving the Chief Minister, Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim, the responsible Exco Offices, Local Authorities, Offices of Assemblymen and residents which will be held in the near future.
The Executive Councillor for Local Government, Studies and Research, Datuk Teng Chang Khim said that the meeting is aimed at finding a formula to adopt and implement Urban Agriculture holistically, effectively and efficiently.
“Urban Agriculture is a concept that is still in the pipeline. There is yet to be any concrete plans to be developed.
“Therefore, my department and the Chief Minister will hold meetings and discussions with Local Authorities, Assemblymen, Councillors, and residents of the relevant Local Authority areas to find the best formula so that when it is implemented, it will run smoothly,” he said.
The US mentioned by Abdul Khalid at the 2014 Budget Dialogue in Subang Jaya on 23 and 24 September is a response to the rapid urbanisation in Selangor. By 2020, he expects 85 percent of Selangor to become cities.
Driven by the need to ensure continuous food supply, the need to ensure that the source of nourishment for the people is not broken, and to open new income opportunities for the low and medium income earners, Selangor is now joining an initiative to map UA in urban planning.
UA places farming systems, processing and the marketing of vegetables, fruits and fresh meet, as well as agro-based products in zones that have been developed and around the intercity on lands that are publicly or privately owned and community land.
Creating UA infrastructure based on the community means to place local systems for farming, food processing and linking farmers to consumers. In the United States alone, UA programmes from community gardens such as the Seattle P-Patches contributes around USD 1.25 million of agricultural products each year.
“Once we have the concept, we will look at the elements that will be placed in the programme and from these elements, what are the constraints that may be encountered and so on.
“However, it is the State Government’s planning to make the people’s lives more comfortable and peaceful,” stressed Chang Khim.