A HOLISTIC approach involving agencies under the Agriculture and Food Security Ministry (AFSM) can overcome the issues surrounding local white rice supply in the country, rice farmers said.

They said at present there is no synchronisation between agencies under the AFSM. Neither is there an understanding with fertiliser suppliers and pesticide companies, they added.

Malaysian Rice Field Fraternity Association (Pesawah) chairman Muhammad Fuad Yaacob said there needs to be two-way communication between relevant parties.

He said padi farmers must be allowed to share their thoughts on ways to improve rice production.

“The problem now is that every agency is putting up their own banner or flag. They are not working together. They have to sit down and talk as a unit under the ministry, including fertiliser suppliers and pesticide companies.

“There has to be a new study on rice supply. The current fertilisers and pesticides are not increasing productivity. If you only have experts to talk about paddy and its production, it will not solve the problem.

“On paper, everything is possible but on the ground things are not the same. The land, the climate, and the seasons in each state is different. The climate in Johor is different from Penang, the seasons in Selangor are different from Kedah.

“We cannot use the old system to grow padi anymore. Like our PM (Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim) said, we need good governance and those in power have to understand what’s happening on the ground. Let farmers speak and let us listen to what they have to say,” said Fuad.

Earlier this week the Dewan Rakyat raised concerns over domestic rice shortage and raised prices for imported rice when debating the 12th Malaysia Plan (12MP) mid-term review.

Wee Jeck Seng (Tanjung Piai-BN) urged the government to take immediate action to address the 38% shortage in rice supply for local consumption.

He said the country faced fierce competition from Indonesia, which has a 42% shortage in its local supply, and the Philippines, the largest rice importer in Southeast Asia, with imports valued at US$1.3 billion (RM6.1 billion) in 2021.

AFSM minister Mohamad Sabu meanwhile said no one should point fingers over the rice supply as the problem was inherited from previous administrations.

Mohamad said the ministry had introduced the Local White Rice Special Programme as a short-term measure to ensure sufficient local rice in the market.

He said under the programme, padi millers and rice wholesalers have been asked to increase the supply of local white rice by 20%.

Mohamad said the ministry previously introduced initiatives such as the Mini Sekinchan Large-Scale Smart Padi Project, where they managed to increase padi production to 11 metric tonnes per hectare.

The country’s supply situation came under scrutiny after Padiberas Nasional Bhd (Bernas) announced it had raised the price of imported white rice at all its warehouses nationwide to RM3,200 per tonne, from RM2,350 per tonne previously.

Market exploitation?

Malaysian Food Security and Sovereignty Forum coordinator Nurfitri Amir Muhammad questioned why Malaysia was facing a white rice shortage in the first place.

He said the matter can be put to rest if a thorough investigation was done by the ministry.

“According to statistics, we have produced 65% of the rice supply and therefore the supply must be with wholesalers or in factories.

“Are they holding up supplies? If they are, then this is market exploitation. But I think this is very unlikely because the price has been set at RM2.60. There is no point for them to hold on to it because the price will stay the same.

“I think there needs to be a thorough investigation. They need to go to the factories or wholesalers and check how much stock there is and look through the records,” said Amir. – September 16, 2023.