PAPAR, The Ministry of Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives (KUSKOP) has allocated RM100 million to finance cooperatives involved in the agro-food sector. Its Minister, Datuk Ewon Benedick, said that the financing, provided through the Revolving Capital Fund and managed by the Cooperative Commission of Malaysia (SKM), is an initiative by the government through KUSKOP to help address the nation's food supply and security. "Therefore, I encourage the community to establish their local cooperatives to engage in activities such as farming, animal husbandry, plantations, and other agro-food sector activities. "Cooperatives involved in the agro-food sector can help support the country's food supply chain and food security," he said in a statement after visiting a chicken farming site developed by Koperasi Kinabalu Lestari Berhad (KOKINA) in Kinarut, near here today. The Minister said that the company has started constructing a broiler chicken barn at a cost of RM450,000, funded by its members' shares, and is expected to begin the first rearing cycle in July 2024. "That's why I would like to offer financing assistance of RM100,000 under the Start-up Financing Scheme (SuFi-1) to KOKINA as a show of support for this cooperative enterprise," he said. Meanwhile, Ewon said that SKM registered 1,001 new cooperatives in 2023, marking a record for the most registrations in a single year. He added that KUSKOP and its agencies, including SKM, are ready to assist cooperatives, especially those already in business, to expand their operations. Source: BERNAMA News Agency