Agro Initiative Can Help People Increase Income Participants

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The Agro Entrepreneur Initiative (Intan) under the People's Income Initiative (IPR) is a two-pronged strategy aimed at increasing income and giving exposure to smart agriculture based on the Internet of Things, according to participants.
Ummu Hani Abdul Razak, 23, a graduate with a bachelor’s degree in biology from Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) said she became interested in agriculture using the fertigation method under the IPR after watching a social media video showing the success of a young agropreneur.
Ummu Hani, who hails from Batu Kurau, Perak said she was also inspired by her farmer father who sells his produce at farmer’s markets to feed his eight children.
"I hope IPR will be a platform for me to learn the ropes of IoT-based agriculture and how to market agricultural products," she told Bernama after receiving the participation certificate at the opening ceremony of the IPR-Intan Agropreneur Programme Centre by Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli at UPM yesterday.
T Mathanraj, 33, who shared Ummu Hani’s sentiment, said he would leverage his experience of cultivating chillies through the fertigation method as his side income for three years in cultivating crops under the IPR.
The Raub, Pahang native said joining the IPR will enable him to explore new technologies in agriculture and obtain guidance from UPM's smart agriculture experts, adding the briefing has shown him a clearer picture of which branch of agriculture he wants to pursue.
Prime Minister Anwar IbrahimOn Feb 24, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim when tabling Budget 2023 said the government allocates RM750 million to the Economy Ministry to implement the IPR.
The programme seeks to enable participants to earn between RM2,000 and RM2,500 per month during the 24-month monitoring period and allow them to generate their income through the results obtained.
Meanwhile, the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) non-executive chairperson Syed Ibrahim Syed Noh welcomed the initiative to help the young people and hardcore poor venture into technology-based agriculture.
Acting as a strategic partner of the Economy Ministry in implementing IPR, he said MDEC provided 10 experts to develop modern agricultural facilities and expose participants to IoT and help them to succeed in Digital AgTech (Agriculture Technology) adoption, a pilot programme to empower national agriculture sectors by infusing digital technologies.
- Bernama

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