Farming Community Must Make Agriculture Sector As Part Of Global Supply Network - Najib

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 18 (Bernama) -- The farming community in the country needs to make the agriculture sector as part of the global supply chain to expand the local agriculture products market to the international level and generate more lucrative income.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said this could be achieved if elements of innovation and boosting research and development (R&D) could be instilled across all levels of society and covering all value chains of the agriculture sector.

"I want to see elements of innovation absorbed in agriculture because I am confident and believe the agriculture sector can still boost its production and productivity to an optimum level and not through the opening of land, which is limited.

"But by applying technology through (R&D) and innovation and best practice to boost output or productivity," he said when opening the 39th annual general meeting of the National Farmers Association (Nafas), here, Monday night.

The prime minister said the government had also introduced several new initiatives for the development and progress of the agriculture sector including through the Rural Transformation Centres (RTCs) early this year.

"Through the RTC, we can turn a place into a centre to purchase and to stock up on all types of agricultural goods from the surrounding areas."

He said to meet the food demand of the nation, the agriculture sector could no longer be too dependent on imported food sources.

As such, he said clear policies and proactive measures must be taken to ensure the nation's food supply adequacy and security.

"On this demand, the government has expanded the focus of the agriculture sector under the National Key Economic Area (NKEA), the National Agrofood Policy (DAN) and the 10th Malaysia Plan.

"Under the agriculture sector NKEA, 16 entry point projects (EPP) have been identified and three involve the rice and padi sector. The other agriculture sectors which are the focus of the government include herbal plants, livestock and aquaculture," said Najib.

He said DAN, formulated by the ministry, was a continuation of the National Agriculture Policy (DPN) which complemented the NKEA.

"Two main objectives of the policy are to boost the income of the target groups and to increase the contribution of the agrofood sector to the national income," he said.

According to Najib, the efforts and initiatives carried out by the government was also to face the food supply crisis which was experiencing a surge and was worrying.

"Since 2002 until 2008 alone, the basic food index in the global market rose 190 per cent for maize, 162 per cent for flour, 318 per cent for rice and 246 for soya beans.

"More serious, the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations reported that for 2012, the food imports for poor countries has risen by 11 per cent while for food producing nations, the value of their food imports has gone up by 20 per cent," he said.

Earlier, Najib launched the first transformation of the Nafas corporate plan, namely the National Agriculture Fund (DPK) which will enable members to directly invest in business activities carried out by the organisation and to subsequently generate income to continue their farming efforts.

At the same time, Najib who is also Finance Minister, also announced he would consider at the cabinet level, the request of Nafas for a grant of RM100 million to DPK.

He also witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding between Nafas and the ministry for management and practical training cooperation and handed over premier awards to children of farmers who received excellent results in their examinations.