Keningau Agro Venture (Ansip Punteh, Lumiri, Belinin and Karamatoi Estates)
During the early years of land development in Sabah, the Sabah Forestry Development Agency’s (SAFODA) afforestation and reforestation projects in Karamatoi, the SLDB had experienced a severe shortage of labour to support the development. In order to overcome this problem local residents were invited to join and to be re-settled in Karamatoi. As a result, the settlement section was formed to handle the settlers’ affairs. Originally Karamatoi Afforestation Settlement Scheme (1983-1996) employed settlers to work in the reforestation project and also allowed them to take part in the agroforestry projects including the planting of short-term traditional cash crops such as, banana, pineapple, maize, paddy and vegetables. These settlers were provided with houses, clinic infrastructures (electricity, water supply, school). The project has stopped in 1996.
The Keningau Agro Venture (KAV) is a joint venture project between the SLDB and SAFODA officially signed in 2011 to rehabilitate Karamatoi scheme, but the tree project was replace by the oil palm crop. In addition, this is a commercial project between SAFODA and SLDB where the profit sharing is allocated between parties mainly SLDB 60 percent, SAFODA 35 percent as the land owner, and 5 percent share is given to the State Ministry of Finance. There are four estates under the KAV joint venture project development which are currently just starting to yield namely Ansip Punteh/ Barasanon/Belinin and Karamatoi estates.