Mardi, GEM initiative to boost agriculture sector
Gerakan Ekonomi Malaysia (GEM) aims to leverage the knowledge, expertise and past successes of Malaysia Agricultural Research and Development Institute’s (Mardi) subsidiary, Mardi Corp, to revamp the nation’s agriculture sector.
GEM and Mardi Corp had on March 26, signed a memorandum of understanding to establish the terms and conditions in establishing mix-farming estate(s) for the production of crops.
Former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad lauded the effort and said the initiative should have been done 50 years ago.
“Many small farmers do not have the economies of scale, research nor knowledge to optimise their returns. GEM can play a pivotal role in changing the (agricultural sector’s) landscape,” said Dr Mahathir.
During the colonisation era, he said the British came to Malaysia and planted rubber trees and various crops in the country as the land was fertile.
“They did it through Guthrie and various organisations via large-scale farming.
“To be successful, we have to unite and produce on a big scale.”
He said the value extraction of the expertise and knowledge by Mardi Corp would go a long way to raise the standards and income of farmers.
GEM president Armin Baniaz Pahamin said it planned to adopt the latest agriculture technology through a cooperative to optimise crop production and test the concept on at least 404ha of land.
Mardi Corp chief executive officer Zaidi Shahrim said the project would use the institute’s technology and expertise.
Armin expected the project to be an enabler to propel GEM’s agenda on agriculture transformation, leading to improved operational efficiency, asset optimisation and increased productivity.