This article first appeared in Forum, The Edge Malaysia Weekly on April 17, 2023 - April 23, 2023

Food security is a growing concern in Malaysia. As the country’s population continues to expand, the adverse effect of urbanisation has impacted its agricultural land. Factors such as the Covid-19 pandemic, climate change and geopolitical conflicts have further underscored the importance of ensuring a stable food supply as disruptions in the global food supply chains have led to food shortages and price spikes. This was evident in the recent egg shortage, when many supermarkets, bakeries and food stall owners found it challenging to secure supplies for their businesses.

One of the key factors in achieving food security in Malaysia is the preservation and expansion of agricultural land. Malaysia is known for its fertile soil and favourable climate, but much of its agricultural land has been lost to climate change, urbanisation and other uses (for example, plantations for commodities such as rubber and oil palm). According to the Department of Statistics Malaysia, the country’s total agricultural land area decreased by 0.3%, from 6.66 million hectares in 2018 to 6.64 million hectares in 2019.

This loss of agricultural land has serious implications for food security, as it limits the country’s ability to produce enough food to meet the needs of its population. Hence, the low self-sufficiency levels in many food items, including rice (65%), chillies (29.3%) and beef (18.9%). Malaysia is highly dependent on imports for its food requirements, importing up to RM2.5 billion of rice in 2020, which makes it vulnerable to price spikes and supply chain disruptions.

In Malaysia, the proportion of agricultural land used for food crops is surprisingly low, with only 1.2 million hectares dedicated to food production. This is in stark contrast to the seven million hectares of land used for oil palm and rubber crops. Furthermore, only 9.7% of the total agricultural land in the country is considered arable, meaning less than 10% of our land is fertile.

To address this imbalance, the government, in retabling Budget 2023, announced plans to fertilise and allocate up to 800 acres of idle land belonging to the Federal Land Development Authority (FELDA), Federal Land Consolidation and Rehabilitation Authority (Felcra), Rubber Industry Smallholders Development Authority (Risda) and other agencies under the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (MAFS) for food agriculture projects. This move could significantly increase the amount of arable land used for food production in the country, potentially boosting food security and reducing dependence on food imports.

However, the success of these initiatives will depend on several factors, including the availability of resources such as water, labour and infrastructure. In addition, sustainable agricultural practices must be prioritised to ensure that the land is used in a way that is environmentally and economically sustainable in the long term.

Many leading agriculture exporters have overcome the issue of land scarcity and infertility:

• China has conducted large-scale land reclamation projects in coastal areas and along major rivers. It also promoted the use of modern agriculture technology, such as precision irrigation and fertilisation, and data analytics to transform its farmlands.

• Through technology enablement and innovative farming systems, Brazil improved the soil fertility in the Brazilian Savannah, which significantly increased the production of grain, beef and milk.

• Indonesia has established irrigation systems to distribute water to barren lands to improve land fertility.

Sustainable farming practices (for example, agroforestry and crop rotation) and the use of modern farming technologies (for example, precision irrigation and planting) should be promoted to optimise land usage and preserve soil fertility. The government can incentivise farmers to adopt these practices and technologies through subsidies, technical assistance, training and other forms of support.

As announced in the retabled Budget 2023, Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) will allocate RM10 million to expand its Digital AgTech programme to train farmers to adapt to technology. This would help support Malaysia’s journey in digitising our agriculture sector. Coordinated efforts between the government and private sector are highly important in order to achieve large-scale agriculture transformation. To this end, tax incentives, tax exemptions and capital allowances were included in the revised Budget 2023 to encourage technology adoption and food production projects.

In addition, the concept of a national food security hub can be introduced to manage the aggregation, distribution and marketing of high-value and critical food products primarily from local and regional producers to strengthen the ability to satisfy wholesale, retail and institutional demand. Apart from driving the food security agenda, this initiative will help spur and create work for settlers in FELDA, Felcra, Risda and other agencies under MAFS. It will also provide opportunities for income earners from both the bottom 40% income group (B40) to gain employment and the middle 40% income group (M40) to generate supplementary income, which in turn will aid in creating equitable wealth while elevating the quality of life of Malaysians.

As the national food security hub would be deemed a strategic initiative at the highest level, there needs to be a custodian, that is, an owner or dedicated agency appointed to run and manage this critical initiative to prevent it from falling by the wayside. Robust governance would need to be instituted in terms of ownership, key performance indicators and periodic reporting on performance in line with achieving the goal of the nation’s food security agenda. This should be in tandem with the government’s plans to repurpose real estate to bolster food production by ensuring more productive and higher-yielding lands, with extensions to Sabah and Sarawak, which have vast arable lands.

In conclusion, the government’s efforts to promote sustainable agriculture and preserve agricultural land are vital to bolster the food security agenda in Malaysia. By launching a dedicated national food security hub, allocating more land for food projects, encouraging technology adoption and attracting investments from the private sector, Malaysia can increase its self-sufficiency in food production and support the sustainable growth of its economy.

Mohd Husin Mohd Nor is a partner at Ernst & Young Consulting Sdn Bhd

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