Johor Agri Dept plans improvements

JOHOR BARU: The Johor Department of Agriculture (JPNJ) has been recommended to make several improvements to ensure the state’s Programme to Promote Entrepreneurship (PGU) can be implemented in a more effective and efficient manner.

According to the Auditor-General’s Report 2018 Series 1, JPNJ should review the objectives of the programme in line with the selection of participants, setting targets and estimates every year to assist workshops towards achieving the MeSTI certification for food hygiene and review the selection process to ensure only qualified participants running full-time companies are selected.

Among other things, the JPNJ was also recommended to ensure that the policies and regulations set out in the implementation guidelines of the PGU do not conflict with other applicable laws, and to follow up with entrepreneurs three months after the assistance is provided.

“The PGU was started in 1994 with the allocation under the Menteri Besar’s office, and was previously known as the Entrepreneurs Movement campaign. Beginning in 2016, the allocation for the programme was given to JPNJ and is fully supervised by the department.

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“The PGU targets new entrepreneurs to be guided and assisted through three key projects namely the Small Industries Project (PIK), Fertigation Projects (PTF) and the Idle Land Project (PTT). From 2016 to 2018, the Johor State Government spent RM9.14 million on the PGU and helped a total of 1,395 entrepreneurs,” said the report released Monday.

According to the report, the audit conducted between Sept and Dec last year summed up that the number of PIK programme participants who received the assistance was good, as it had increased every year.

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However, it said the target of achieving an income-level of above RM3,000 for the entrepreneurs had yet to be achieved, as only 32 PIK entrepreneurs or 26.4 per cent of the beneficiaries in 2016 and 23 recipients or 17.2 per cent in 2017 had increased their income to above RM3,000 per month.

Apart from that, the report said that only two PIK entrepreneurs had gotten the MeSTI certification while for PTF, only 77 per cent of entrepreneurs carried fertigation crops, while the rest did not. – Bernama

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