KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 6): Malaysia has set national rice self-sufficiency ratio (SSR) targets of 75% by 2025, and 80% by 2030.
According to Deputy Agriculture and Food Security Minister Chan Foong Hin, the national rice SSR stood at 62.6% as of 2022. To improve the rice SSR, the ministry is focusing on increasing rice productivity through the Mini Sekinchan Large-Scale Smart Paddy Project.
"The ministry will also implement a two-year paddy cultivation plan with five seasons to ensure that we can achieve the national rice SSR targets of 75% by 2025, and 80% by 2030," Chan said in response to Datuk Mohd Isam Mohd Isa (Barisan Nasional-Tampin) during an oral question-and-answer session in the Dewan Rakyat on Monday.
Chan mentioned that the ministry is currently monitoring the supply status of eight main food commodities, namely rice, vegetables, fruits, chicken/duck meat, chicken/duck eggs, beef, fresh milk, and edible fish.
In 2022, the SSR of vegetables stood at 44.7%, while fruits were 78.1%, beef was 14.7%, chicken and duck meat was 94.4%, chicken and duck eggs were 108.9%, fresh milk was 57.3%, and edible fish was 90.2%.
Chan stated that in five years, the ministry aims to increase the total number of ruminant livestock for the production of beef and buffalo meat to an SSR of 50% or 111,000 metric tons, while its target for goat and lamb meat is an SSR of 30% or 14,200 metric tons, through the National Butcher Industry Development Strategic Plan 2021-2025.
"The National Dairy Industry Development Strategic Plan 2021-2025 has also been launched, with the target of adding 20 million litres of fresh milk to achieve a 100% SSR by 2025," Chan added.
For vegetables and fruits that have low SSRs and a high import rate, Chan said that the ministry aims to increase the production of vegetables such as ginger, cabbage, and chilli and fruits such as coconuts, as the National Agrofood Policy 2.0 targets a fruit SSR of 83%, and a vegetable SSR of 79% by 2030.
"Regarding fisheries and aquaculture, the ministry will promote food fish production through aquaculture, targeting an aquaculture production ratio of 60:40 compared to capture fisheries," Chan said.
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