Sejati MADANI Catfish Project Supplies Four Supermarkets In Besut

JERTIH, Sept 10 (Bernama) -- Fresh catfish from a Taman Pelagat aquaculture project under the Sejati MADANI programme have reached four supermarkets in Besut and earned Malaysian Good Agricultural Practices (MyGAP) certification.

Chairman of the Taman Pelagat Federal Village Security and Development Committee (JPKKP) Ghazali Che Noh said the Terengganu Fisheries Department has confirmed the project as the first Sejati MADANI project in Malaysia to receive MyGAP certification.

He said the certification shows the community-based project has strong potential to expand into an economic activity for residents, particularly in aquaculture.

According to Ghazali, the Sejati MADANI project, officially launched on Nov 1, 2024, began with 10 canvas ponds stocked with about 10,000 African catfish fry.

“However, our production capacity is still insufficient to expand into more supermarkets, despite continued demand,” he told Bernama recently when met at the fish farm in Taman Pelagat.

Ghazali said work is underway to add 12 fish ponds, including two ponds with 7,000 fish fry under the MyGAP initiative, while the remaining 10 ponds are being developed through a grant from the Fisheries Department’s Extension Programme.

He said the assistance included equipment and project inputs such as complete ponds or tanks, water pump motors and related facilities, with a total value of about RM55,000.

“The addition of these ponds is important to increase production capacity and meet growing market demand,” he said, noting that the project currently produces between 1.2 and 1.5 tonnes of catfish a month, with a retail price of around RM12 to RM13 per kilogramme.

“Demand for our catfish remains high because they are of good quality, with no unpleasant odour and firm flesh, thanks to quality feed and regular water changes,” he said.

He said the catfish are harvested in stages once they reach maturity, then graded for sale, with fish weighing around five to a kilogramme among those in high demand.

“We manage the project jointly with residents of Taman Pelagat, Taman Desa Saujana and Kampung Kubang Siam through an elected committee and a resident rotation system.

“Besides providing an additional source of income, part of the sales proceeds is also channelled to the village fund to help residents in need, including asnaf and the poor,” he said.

Sejati MADANI is one of the MADANI Government’s national initiatives to stimulate community-level economic activity and increase incomes.

-- BERNAMA