AGRICULTURE is a profitable business that young people should be encouraged to venture into, said “agropreneur” Ramana K Naidu

Calling agriculture a “goldmine”, 31-year-old Ramana K. Naidu debunked the myth that it is a dead industry.

Ramana runs the largest commercial grain corn plantation in Malaysia after starting out with just 0.4ha of land in 2011.

His company, Famox Plantation, uses high technology machinery such as drones and air-conditioned tractors to attract youths to work in the agricultural sector.

According to Ramana, grain corn production can be a profitable business in Malaysia. Ramana said that Malaysia imports nearly 100% of grain corn and the demand for it has been increasing till today. 

“The yearly import value is 3.71 million metric tonnes worth over RM4 billion. And to fulfil the demand, Malaysia has to plant grain corn on over 400,000ha (of land).

“That is a huge amount and I want to achieve at least 1% of that, which is about a RM40 million turnover. Currently, we have not achieved it but we are working towards it,” Ramana said.

He said Famox has the success module to produce 8.1 to 9.5 tonnes of grain per hectare locally.

Ramana said Malaysia’s dependency on imports is the root cause for increasing food prices.

“For example, an increase in the price of imported grain corn will directly increase the cost of livestock production and consequently, the price of chicken and egg in the market.

Famox has also ventured into integrated farming involving cattle and poultry breeding. 

“The integrated farm helps us to make profits constantly from different sectors in separate seasons,” said Ramana.

Mentoring the young

Ramana said the government provides many incentives that many people are unaware of for young people to venture into the field.

“Program Agropreneur Muda by the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industries gives a RM15,000-20,000 grant to start up and they don’t even have to pay back the money,” he said.

Ramana added that Famox has launched a mentor-mentee project for youth, especially those who are looking for job opportunities during the pandemic.

“We will provide consultation and guidance from A to Z in grain corn plantation. Mentees will be given use of high-tech machinery and taught the skills to operate them.”

To join the Famox mentorship programme, email [email protected]. – June 26, 2021.