PUTRAJAYA must allocate sufficient funds for the agriculture and food sectors in Budget 2023 to guarantee food sovereignty for the people, agriculture-based groups said.

They also said allocations must also be increased for research and development (R&D) in both sectors.

Food sovereignty refers to a nation’s ability to produce its own food and reduce its dependence on imports.

“My hope is that the allocation for the agricultural sector will be doubled from RM5 billion to RM10 billion because food sovereignty requires a huge expenditure,” Badan Bertindak Pertanian Negara chairman Mohd Faisal Idris told The Malaysian Insight.

“The funding must be increased because the guarantee of food sovereignty involves R&D, which requires a lot of money.”

In Budget 2022, the government allocated RM4.82 billion with operating expenses amounting to RM3.28 billion and development expenses, RM1.54 billion.

The allocation has also been aligned to the 12th Malaysia Plan and National Agro-Food Policy 2021-2030.

Faisal said efforts must be made immediately to ensure production in the agricultural and food sectors can meet the growing needs of Malaysians.

He also said every stakeholder must be involved for the goal of food sovereignty to be realised.

“To deal with the problem of egg shortage, for example, we have the farmers’ association in every district. So the government can supply chickens to each district, which, in turn, will allow the district to produce its own egg supplies,” he said.

“Then, we don’t need to import chicken eggs.”

Special attention should also be given to the production of grain corn, which is the main source of food for livestock such as chickens.

“The food sector needs to carry out R&D. We have to find a way to shorten the harvesting of grain corn,” said Faisal.

“Normally, grain corn takes 120 days from the day it is planted to harvest. We need to find a way to harvest within 70 days, so that requires research.”

The move, he said, would enable the animal feed to be produced in a short time and reduce the dependence on imports.

Focus on farmers

Pertubuhan Persaudaraan Pesawah Malaysia (Pesawah) chairman Mohd Fuad Yaakob hopes that Budget 2023 will focus on small-time padi farmers.

He said for starters, the government should increase the subsidy for them to RM500.

For the past five years, he said, padi farmers have only enjoyed a subsidy of RM350 per year while the cost is rising at every stage of rice cultivation.

Fuad said due to the government’s price control, Malaysians can usually enjoy a plate of rice that costs only about 26 sen.

“The government wants to help the people so that they can have cheap rice, but it has to look at the cost we bear,” he said.

“The price of rice is controlled and the subsidy remains the same. The government must come up with a mechanism to reduce the cost of rice production.”

He said if no action is taken, it is feared that the income of about 180,000 padi farmers across the country will be affected.

“When costs increase, the farmers are burdened. The government must find ways to reduce the costs and increase farmers’ income. Every season, the yield is also uncertain,” he said.

Pesawah’s demand was part of Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) manifesto in the last year’s general election, under the food sovereignty guarantee pillar.

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on January 28 assured that the issue of food security and high food imports will be given attention by his administration in Budget 2023, which will be tabled again today. – February 24, 2023.