Covid-19 : Bolster self-sufficiency in food supplies

22 April Kathmandu : THE Covid-19 pandemic had exposed weaknesses in the growth and development policies of many governments, among them include poor public health security, inadequate internet access for home learning and low self sufficiency in food supplies.

Malaysia’s weak food supply chain is of no exception. Although the government had several times given its assurances that domestic food supply is enough, many Malaysians remain worried especially among the bottom 40 group.

According to Bank Negara Malaysia’s 2019: Food imports and the exchange rate, more than meets the eye, Malaysia remains a net food importer with imports forming at least a quarter of total food supply (24 per cent).

What this means is that we have not attained self-sufficiency in food supply meeting 76 per cent of the country’s food requirement. Covid-19 had unearthed the glaring over reliance of our food supply from overseas markets and there is a dire need for the country to hive this over dependency.

The reset on food sourcing must sustain after the lockdown to ensure we are self sufficient. Malaysia cannot rely on others to feed its people and it must trim the RM52 billion food purchases.

Amid the Covid-19, Vietnam had already suspended its rice exports which included to Malaysia. Kazakhstan and Russia have already pulled the plug on the exports of wheats, seeds and grains to other countries.

Malaysia has an estimated seven million hectares of agriculture land, of which 77 per cent are planted with oil palm and rubber. There’s still plenty of opportunities to fully optimise the existing agriculture land by planting cash crops such as tapioca, cocoa, coconut, pepper, coffee, tea and others.

The government had launched so many agricultural blueprints ever since 1984. But, all the master plans failed because Malaysia still imports about a quarter of its food supplies.

It is time that the Agriculture Ministry reorganise and reinvent all the 16 agencies under its wings. This include the Malaysian Agriculture Research and Development Institute, the Federal Agriculture Marketing Authority and others.

Covid-19 has taught us that the nation cannot rely its food supply from other countries as its prices can hit the roof in the event of a pandemic. Once the outbreak is over, the government should go back to the drawing board and devise ways on how to make the country self sufficient in food production.

Universiti Putra Malaysia lecturer, Professor Dr Fatimah Mohamed Arshad reportedly said Malaysia is blessed with abundant and fertile agriculture land, plentiful sunshine and torrents of rain, second only to Brazil.

However, despite all sorts of food-based initiatives, Malaysia has failed to be self sufficient and yet to fully capitalise on its resources. Malaysia has been importing food ever since the 1950s and this trend has to stop. Fatimah said, there are four steps which Malaysia could take to realise its aspiration as a food producer.

The first is to realign all the country’s various agriculture-based research and development organisations to include universities to become one single entity.

Secondly, is to boost human capital by setting up more agricultural institutions and centers of excellence such as in Taiwan, China and the Netherlands and train young graduates.

The third is to equip the farmers with the latest entrepreneurial skills, e-commerce and the latest agricultural methods.

Lastly, Fatimah said is to consolidate infrastructure in the rural areas which include ramping up Internet connection and widen the logistics network.

Fatimah said investing in agriculture is never wasteful as it ensures food sustainability for the people as well as conserve the environment with lush greenery and create a diverse biodiversity.

The writer is former NST business assistant editor