Minister wants National Food Policy to be continued

Posted on January 11, 2011, Tuesday

PUTRAJAYA: The Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Ministry will propose to the Cabinet that the National Food Security Policy which ended in 2010 be continued to ensure sufficient food supply at all times.

Its minister Datuk Seri Noh Omar said the proposal paper was ready and would be submitted to the Cabinet soon. We cannot guarantee the proposal will be approved as we all know that the policy was introduced to assist farmers, fishermen and livestock breeders faced with high agriculture input costs due to the oil price hike.“But we will be appealing to the Cabinet for the policy to be continued,” he told reporters after delivering his New Year message to the ministry’s officers and staff here yesterday.

The National Food Security was introduced in 2008 to increase food production and ensure stable food prices in the country following the global food crisis that year. Noh said under the policy, RM3 billion was allocated for agriculture development from 2008 to 2010.

He said this year, RM2.77 billion was allocated for management expenditure, of which RM1.54 billion was for increasing padi output, whereby farmers would be provided assistance. The assistance is in the form of fertiliser subsidy (RM409 million), padi price subsidy (RM480 million), padi seed subsidy (RM85 million), padi production incentive (RM150 million), increased padi yield subsidy (RM80 million) and rice price subsidy (RM167 million).

Noh said the ministry also required an additional allocation of RM400 million for the padi sector to ensure supply would not be affected by problems caused by unpredictable weather conditions. He said under the Tenth Malaysia Plan, the ministry was allocated RM1.6 billion for a two-year period (2011-2012) by the Economic Planning Unit to implement the agriculture National Key Result Area.

“A sum of RM821.4 million is allocated this year to implement 11 projects, including the large-scale Integrated Aquaculture Zone, increasing padi yields, and raising livestock breeding-oil palm plantation integration.” Noh also said that about RM2 million would be disbursed to eligible livestock breeders affected by the foot and mouth disease (FMD) outbreak.

Veterinary Services director-general Datuk Dr Abdul Aziz Jamaluddin had earlier confirmed that the FMD had attacked dairy cattle in Kedah, Perak, Selangor, Negeri Sembilan and Terengganu.