AGROPOLITAN PLANNING AS A STRATEGY FOR PROMOTING SUSTAINABLE LIVING AMONG RURAL POOR COMMUNITIES: EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE

Although Malaysia's poverty rate has decreased, there are still people who suffer from extreme poverty, especially in rural areas. The agropolitan project aims to eradicate extreme poverty and accelerate development in rural areas. The achievements of agropolitan projects are evaluated through the extent to which they help participants to get out of extreme poverty and are measured using Poverty Line Income (PLI). A study using the Sustainable Livelihood Framework (SLF) was conducted at the Gahai Agropolitan Project, Lipis, Pahang, and involved 45 participants. Research data was obtained through the distribution of questionnaires and analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 22 software and Microsoft Excel. Studies indicate that the Gahai Agropolitan Project can eradicate poverty and contribute to sustainable livelihoods. From the aspect of sustainable living, the study results show that the participants of the Gahai Agropolitan Project experience high vulnerability. Moreover, asset ownership analysis reveals that the Gahai Agropolitan Project participants have good asset ownership.