SERDANG: The Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security will be focusing on four dimensions of food security as defined by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).
Its minister, Datuk Seri Mohamad Sabu stated that these dimensions involve availability, access, utilisation, as well as stability and sustainability, which align with the National Food Security Policy Action Plan 2021-2025 and the National Agri-Food Policy 2021-2030 (DAN 2.0).
“This matter presents challenges to the ministry to ensure that the country’s food security can be sustained in the long term and the national food system needs to be strengthened to be more sustainable in preparation for addressing global food crisis threats at this time.
“I have outlined five strategic directions and the main focus of the ministry starting in 2023 to ensure that the country has a sustainable food source,” he said.
He made these remarks while speaking at the closing ceremony of the National Food Security Conference 2023 at the Grand Hall of the Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah Cultural and Arts Center, Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) here today.
During the event, Mohamad Sabu also received the National Food Security Resolution 2023 resulting from discussions among experts and stakeholders in the conference.
The two-day conference brought together over 400 participants, including policy makers, academics, researchers, entrepreneurs, and community members to discuss the strategic directions of agricultural and national food security policy.
Mohamad Sabu stated that the first strategic direction is to strengthen the aquaculture sector with the goal of increasing fish production from aquaculture activities to reach 60 per cent of the self-sufficiency level (SSL).
“The second direction is to expand cattle farming using the feedlot method to meet local and export demand for meat and increase the target of local meat production to 50 per cent of the SSL by 2025.
“The third is to initiate efforts to cultivate grain corn to reduce import dependency by 30 per cent over the next 10 years,” he said.
According to the minister, the fourth direction is to enhance youth participation in the agro-food and smart agriculture sectors.
“The fifth direction is to strengthen agricultural training institutes to produce skilled youth in agricultural technology, research and development.
“Furthermore, we will explore modern and smart agriculture to ensure sustainable food security,” he added.
Regarding the resolution he received, Mohamad Sabu stated that it is in line with the ministry’s requirements.
“Indeed, we can see that the younger generation are not interested in entering the agricultural field because the income comes much later, and even if they do join, it’s not very high.
“But now, we can see that modern agriculture is attracting many, for example, in China, a 60-year-old woman farmer can operate machinery in her fields using mobile applications alone.
“We are now moving in that direction with the help and expertise of various parties, including universities,” he said.
