Government urged to do more for rice production

KUALA LUMPUR: While the increased allocation for agriculture under Budget 2021 has been lauded, stakeholders have urged the government to take further steps to improve rice production in the country.

Rice industry coalition Padi Rescue has called for more targeted incentives to motivate farmers, while an academic said environmentally-friendly practices are necessary to ensure sustainability.

Padi Rescue chief coordinator Nurfitri Amir Muhammad said higher and more comprehensive incentives could help farmers produce more high-quality rice in sufficient quantities to meet domestic needs.

He said research on agricultural innovations should also be stepped up to enable Malaysia, to not only attain selfsufficiency in terms of food supplies, but also be an exporter in future.

However, he expressed concern that the price subsidy for padi has been lowered by RM50 million for 2021 compared with 2020.

“Farmers now get an incentive of RM360 for every tonne of rice they produce, but with the smaller allocation, fewer farmers will receive this incentive in full next year,” he said.

Malaysians consume about 2.7 million tonnes of rice each year, 70% of which is produced locally. The remaining 30% demand is met by imports from various countries, including Thailand, Vietnam and India.

An average person consumes about 80kg of rice per year.

Under Budget 2021, the government has proposed to allocate RM1.7 billion in the form of subsidies, aid and incentives to farmers and fishermen.

This includes RM570 million for price subsidy as well as RM960 million for planting subsidy and incentives.

Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia economics professor Jamal Othman said the government should start to replace existing fertilisers, pesticides and herbicides with environmentally-friendly ones in keeping with sustainable agricultural practices and the concept of food safety.

“We must attain the food security level in the context of health. All these aspects should be given more attention by the government in view of the Covid-19 threat,” he said.

Jamal, who is Academy of Professors Malaysia deputy president, also said the importance of rice, as a staple food, is not only seen in terms of food security or food sovereignty but also in its close association with other non-economic functions. – Bernama