KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 23 — The government has been told to implement an action plan to restructure the nation’s agro-food sector to tackle future food security crises.
Betong MP Richard Rapu @ Aman Anak Begri said the government must transform to ensure the sector becomes more resilient, inclusive, competitive, and sustainable.
“This includes carrying out changes to agriculture practices, acceptance of the use of advanced technology, and increased productivity, besides strengthening the ecosystem which will facilitate the transformation efforts,” he said during the debate on the Supply Bill 2024 in the Dewan Rakyat today.
Jeli MP Zahari Kechik, in echoing the same sentiments, said the government should not be too dependent on importing food.
The current food security crisis is also due to Malaysia being over-reliant on imported food, with up to RM62 billion in import value annually.
“When an exporting country changes its policies due to various factors like production, currency crisis, climate, disease outbreak, or war, the country’s food security will be badly affected, and this will surely bring calamity to the people and the country,” he said.
Meanwhile, Jelebu MP Datuk Seri Jalaluddin Alias said the Federal government must be prepared to spend heavily on the management and initiatives of the food security agenda, thus reducing reliance on food exports.
He cited the Negeri Sembilan state government, which applied for an additional RM20 million under Budget 2024 to strengthen the agricultural, livestock, and fisheries industries and develop idle land for agricultural use.
“Negeri Sembilan is not a rice-producing state, but it has 1,200 hectares of land for paddy planting and, with the allocation available, we can build our own rice mills in the coming years to supply rice for our own state,” he said.
Meanwhile, Sabak Bernam MP Kalam Salan suggested the government increase the floor price of paddy to RM1,500 per tonne compared to the current RM1,300.
This is necessary to be fair to farmers, who have to bear the cost of importing fertilisers and pesticides and the price of oil for machinery, in addition to maintaining food security.
The issue of food security, including increasing the supply of rice, was also brought up by several other parliamentarians, including Sik MP Ahmad Tarmizi Sulaiman, Batang Sadong MP Rodiyah Sapiee, and Bukit Gantang MP Datuk Syed Abu Hussin Hafiz Syed Abdul Fasal.
— Bernama
