Domestic trade and cost of living minister Armizan Mohd Ali said the agriculture and food security ministry needs to examine the information submitted and present recommendations to the appeals committee.

“We are aware that there were appeals by vegetable growers in Cameron Highlands, so we told the agriculture and food security ministry to take follow-up action, obtain information and submit recommendations to the appeals committee, which involves other ministries.

“The agriculture and food security ministry will hold a meeting with (the farmers) immediately to get additional information on the assistance required, either through the subsidised diesel control system or cash assistance,” he told reporters in Kota Bharu, Kelantan, today.

Farmers in Cameron Highlands had previously expressed their complaints about the Budi Madani initiative, saying not all of them will benefit from it as they do not have registered companies.

However, the frequently-asked-questions document for Budi Agri-Komoditi, which is for farmers and smallholders, available from the Budi Madani website, does not indicate that a farmer must have a registered company to be eligible for the aid.

It says to be eligible, one must be an individual or organisation registered with the agriculture and food security ministry via its GeoAgro registration system, or with the agricultural department’s farming sector (not including padi farmers), veterinary department’s livestock sector, or the fisheries department’s aquaculture sector (not including fishermen).

One must also be a small-scale “agricultural entrepreneur” actively generating annual agricultural revenues from RM50,000 to RM300,000.