PROGRAMMES to help farmers increase yields of fruits, vegetables, and rice which were stopped during Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s first stint as prime minister could make a comeback with his return to office.

These programmes are among proposals being studied by the new government as it aims to enhance food security and the multi-billion food import bill.

They are being drawn up by a panel advising the Agriculture and Agro-based Industries Ministry which was announced in May, said sources.

The emphasis by the new administration is to help small-scale farmers increase yields of local crops destined for the dining table.

This is a departure from the aims of previous governments to boost the production of industrial crops, such as oil palms, for export.

The push for locally grown food is also the driving principle behind the administration’s revival of the National Feedlot Corporation scheme, which ran aground when it was operated by relatives of Umno minister Shahrizat Jalil.

Minister Salahuddin Ayub said the government will continue with the project’s aim to increase beef production to supply 30% of local demand via breeding projects in Muar, Segamat, and Pagoh in Johor.

“The focus towards farming exports, such as oil palm, has resulted in environmental degradation and our dependence on food imports,” said one source with direct knowledge of the proposals.

At the same time, the official said, Malaysia had lost a lot of knowledge and opportunities to develop its food production sector.

“Most of our land is also now used for oil palm and rubber, things which we can’t eat.”

By sidelining food production, the country has made itself dependent on imported food, the prices of which fluctuate due to the value of the ringgit.

“Ironically, we import food from countries that had invested in their food farming industries, such as Thailand and China.”

Extension services

Last year, Malaysia spent RM38.1 billion to import food, as the local agricultural sector was unable to produce enough to meet the needs of the nation.

The country is only 70% self-sufficient in rice, meaning the farms are able to satisfy 70% of the demand for rice. The country must import rice to fully meet demand.

Malaysia also imports vegetables such as chillies (49.1% self-sufficiency) and round cabbages (61.9%). For mutton and beef, Malaysia has achieved self-sufficiency of only 11.8% and 25.1%, respectively.

Economist Yusof Saari said that although the country is self-sufficient in certain foods such as poultry, it still has to import chicken feed, the cost of which drives up the final price for the meat.

The proposals will see the government spending more on farmers’ welfare, building infrastructure, and training them in best methods and practices.

This last component, technically called extension services, involves sending out trainers from the government’s research agencies such as Mardi to teach farmers the best ways to improve their yields.

“Many of these extension services which were developed in the late 70s were discontinued by Dr Mahathir in the 80s as the government as the time saw agriculture as a sunset industry,” said another source involved with the advisory panel.

“These were many pioneering farming methods and academies were discontinued.”

Dr Mahathir’s first term from 1981 to 2003 saw the prime minister devoting all of the government’s energies and resources to move the agriculture-based economy to one focused on heavy industries.

Instead of looking to invest in large-scale corporations to produce food, the proposals call for supporting and increasing the number of small-scale farms.

“Smaller farmers have a closer relationship to the land, and the crops they grow and are more likelier to use sustainable practices.”  

Besides reviving these defunct programmes, the panel is also looking at trade measures that could support the farming industry, such as slight, temporary tariffs on food imports.

This would make locally produced food more competitive in price, said the official.

“Japan, for instance, has a 700% tariff on rice imports to protect their local industries.”

In bringing down the price of imports while the industry catches up, the new administration is also reviewing approved permits for imports.

“The food security policy is a long-term plan. We have to rebuild our capacity, retrain our farmers, and shift our priorities. This is a very big change.” – July 28, 2018.