Budget 2021 : Don't worry, food supplies are enough

By Zaidi Isham Ismail
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ONE of the many concerns which cropped up during COVID-19 is food security. The rakyat is worried that with the lockdown, food supplies will not be enough and panic buying and hoarding will be widespread.

A few days before the government imposed the lockdown, queues snaked at all major supermarkets with shoppers filling up their shopping carts with food supplies.

These images were not only in Malaysia but overseas as well.

To alleviate these concerns, the government had allocated a total of RM1.7 billion to beef up the country's agriculture and agribusiness sectors.

Out of the RM1.7 billion, the government had allocated RM57 million in subsidies for some 300,000 paddy farmers nationwide.

Agriculture and Agro-based Minister Datuk Seri Ronald Kiandee told a media briefing recently that the RM1.7 billion allocation was enough to see the sector through as well as provide for the country's farmers and fishermen to tide over during the hard times.

"For rice supplies, the rakyat need not worry as supplies will be enough," a Padiberas Nasional Berhad official told DagangNews.com.

The government also launched the "Kebun Komuniti," to train the rakyat to become self sustainable.

Food security during COVID-19 is of utmost importance.

Due to the pandemic, some of Malaysia's food suppliers such as Vietnam has pulled the plug by barring exports of its rice to Malaysia.

Russia and Kazakhstan meanwhile have also curbed its exports of grains and wheats to its global markets.

Thus the issue of food insecurity and inadequacy is very real.

Defence Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri had said time and time again that food supplies are adequate and the rakyat should not be worried.

But at the same time, Malaysia has to take steps to become self sufficient.

At this moment, Malaysia is a net importer of food buying 25% of its food supplies valued at some RM50 billion a year.

This is unacceptably high and the country must do something about it.

Agriculture which includes food production will continue to be a mainstay of the country's gross domestic product.

At a time when COVID-19 is wreaking havoc on various sectors, the agriculture segment continue to buck the trend.

This year, the agriculture sector is expected to register lower growth of 4.1% amid the pandemic.

Eventhough its growth is expected to drop this year compared to 7.1% last year, it's still a commendable growth compared with other sectors which have registered negative growth.

COVID-19 has exposed many weaknesses in the policies of governments around the world.

These include food security, lack of hospitals and lack of Internet connectivity to facilitate online learning.

And to plug this weakness, Malaysia has to step up on producing its own food.

Malaysia is blessed with abundant rain, plenty of sunshine and soil rich in nutrients.

We should take full advantage of these blessings and aspire to become one of the world's top agriculture and agribusiness hubs.

The country is already the world's second largest oil palm producer and a top producer in pepper and cocoa.

The Netherlands is known for its top position as a food producer.

And the US is known for its technology giants while Switzerland is known for its banking.

Malaysia should strive to be as one of the world's top agriculture and agribusiness hubs.  -  DagangNews.com

The writer is former NST Business assistant editor