Sarawak has approved 143 hectares in Meradong for hybrid paddy cultivation through a 20-year collaboration with Onemas Agriculture Sdn Bhd.
The land arrangement, involving the Land Custody and Development Authority (LCDA), was reported on October 13 by DayakDaily, citing TVS. A sub-lease memorandum ceremony between LCDA Agri Business Sdn Bhd and Onemas Agriculture took place that day.
The agreement is a step towards bringing the Meradong land into cultivation. A precise planting start date was not announced.
The food industry minister said early hybrid-paddy trials showed yield potential of up to 11.08 tonnes per hectare, compared with about 1.5 tonnes under traditional planting methods. That is a trial-based projection, not a recorded commercial harvest from the newly approved land.
Sarawak's stated rice self-sufficiency level is 21 per cent, against a target of at least 60 per cent by 2030. The Meradong land approval provides a specific site within that wider effort. Its contribution will depend on cultivation and actual harvests, not the acreage announcement alone.