Hong Kong is the gateway to China and surrounding regions, with Dubai and London acting as the gateway to the Middle East and European markets respectively, Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob told reporters after opening the New Affirmative Action Movement (NAAM) Agro Symposium: Agriculture Driving Youths’ Economy here Thursday.
Ismail Sabri said the ministry plans to market products from Malaysian small and medium entreprises including mushrooms, honey and herbal products at these outlets, with financial assistance for interested youths from Agrobank and Tekun Nasional via the ministry’s Young Agropreneur Unit.
With youths comprising only 15 per cent of the board of the Farmers’ Organisation Authority, he said, the government aims to produce 1,000 young agropreneurs annually beginning this year.
These entrepreneurs could earn at least RM5,000 monthly, he said, adding the cooperation between the Young Agropreneur Unit and NAAM Foundation to raise youths’ participation in agriculture could help change their misperception that farming could not be a lucrative business.
— BERNAMA
