KUALA TERENGGANU, Aug 12 (Bernama) -- A RM105 million commercial chicken farming project to be jointly implemented by the Terengganu Department of Veterinary Services (DVS) and CAB Cakaran (Timur) Sdn Bhd is expected to raise the state’s chicken meat Self-Sufficiency Ratio (SSR) to 100 per cent.
State Agriculture, Agro-based Industry, Food Security and Commodities Committee chairman Dr Azman Ibrahim said the closed-house chicken farming project, comprising three phases, would be carried out on 414.63 hectares of grazing land in Dungun and Setiu.
He said the project would also create hundreds of skilled, semi-skilled and technical job opportunities for local youths, while stimulating the economic chain in Dungun and Setiu.
“There are 90 grazing areas in Terengganu covering 5,964 hectares. However, 66.7 per cent of them have yet to be optimally utilised. Through the pilot project at three grazing areas, the state government is not only bringing in investment but also activating dormant assets to generate economic returns.
“The first phase of the project will be at Padang Ragut Damar near Setiu, involving 50 broiler houses with a capacity of one million chickens per cycle and an estimated six million chickens annually. The second phase will be at Padang Ragut Kampung Papan near Dungun, with a capacity of 1.4 million layer chickens and an estimated egg production of one million a day,” he told reporters at the Land Lease Agreement Signing Ceremony for the commercial chicken farming project at Wisma Darul Iman here today.
Dr Azman said the third phase would involve the development of 25 breeder houses on 28.43 hectares at Padang Ragut Cermin near Dungun.
He said the project, which would be equipped with a hatchery, would be supplied with 215,000 chickens, with a target of producing 1.4 million eggs for hatching per day.
“The implementation of the entire project, which is expected to take two years, is also in line with the National Agrofood Policy 2.0, which targets Malaysia’s chicken meat SSR to reach 140 per cent by 2030, thereby making the country a net exporter.
“Currently, the state’s SSR stands at 76.56 per cent. We expect this project to raise the chicken meat SSR to 100 per cent,” he said.
-- BERNAMA