Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said the project would take off the ground in the first quarter of next year and would involve local breeders.

He said the Gorontalo governor had agreed in principle to approve the two projects and the ministry was in the process of identifying the investors.

"We will use the reverse investment technique where Malaysian investors plant corn in Indonesia to offset the high cost of animal feed from the crop in our country," he told reporters after launching the Livestock Asia 2007 Expo and Forum at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre here.

He said among the challenges in the livestock industry was to offset the demand of animal feed which had reached RM2 billion yearly with a price hike of between 40 and 50 per cent annually.

Muhyiddin said a company from Muar, Johor had received 500 Bali cattle breed from Gorontalo two months ago for breeding purposes.

He said the purchase of the cattle breed with an investment of RM1 million was part of a plan to invest in the cattle rearing project in Gorontalo.

Source: Bernama