KUALA LUMPUR, March 30 — Less than 1 per cent of large-scale farmers in the country practice organic farming, the Senate was told today.
Agriculture and Food Security Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Sabu said on that basis, the ministry, together with the private sector and non-governmental organisations, was now taking an aggressive approach to promoting organic farming to local industry players.
“At the moment we are emphasizing through two cores, the first, expanding promotion at the domestic level for special premium products such as organic produce and nutritious food to support the development of the production of similar products in the market.
“Secondly, increase the acceptance of the food standard certification among food producers, including myGAP (Malaysia Good Agricultural Practices) and myOrganic, with every organic ingredient having to get the approval of these two bodies,” he added.
Mohamad was speaking during the oral question-and-answer session when responding to a question by Senator Susan Chemerai Anding, who wanted to know the steps taken by the ministry to promote organic farming in the country.
He said a product has to have the MyGAP to be recognised and marketed as an organic product.
“At the ministry, we also monitor organic products in the market and the public can bring them to us to check the authenticity of organic products,” he added.
Mohamad was responding to a supplementary question from Senator Datuk Dominic Lau Hoe Chai, who wanted to know how consumers can identify the authenticity of organic products sold in the market.
— Bernama
