Attention to rice sufficiency
Published on: Tuesday, September 29, 2015
Kota Kinabalu: Various efforts have been carried out by the Government to increase the level of self-sufficiency for the country's rice production to meet the challenging demands of an increasing population.Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman said the State had determined that agriculture is an important sector that would spur the State's economic development and progress."Our priority is to increase domestic food production level in order to decrease our import bill which is already very high and continues to rise.
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"Therefore, rice production is an activity which the State Government is paying very close attention to," he said at the launching of the National Plantation Industry Conference and Exhibition, Monday.His speech was read by Deputy Chief Minister cum Agriculture and Food Industry Minister Datuk Seri Yahya Hussin.Musa said the Government had agreed with the target of achieving a self-sufficiency level of 60 per cent for the State's food security, taking into account other factors such as economy, unpredictable weather and changes in international trade policies."In 2014, Sabah had a total of 44,921 hectares of rice planted areas, producing 2.7 tonnes of rice per hectare. In terms of infrastructure, since 2010, a total of RM42.9million had been spent in Kota Belud for the upgrading of irrigation system so that harvesting can be done twice a year with an estimated production of 55,090 metric tonnes per year," he said.
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Musa said more attention should be given to research and development activities based on technology and innovation which could contribute to the increase of the nation's rice production as it moves towards 100 per cent self-sufficiency level.Meanwhile, Organising Executive Committee Chairman Ahmad Fer-Rouse said Malaysia lies in 25th place in terms of rice production in the world with China and India leading the pack, producing half of the world's rice.
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"However, Australia is the world's most efficient producer of rice, producing an average of 8.7 tonnes of rice per hectare per year, followed by Japan, and then China," he said.Ahmad added that Malaysia had resolved to increase its rice production to meet the government's target for full self-sufficiency in rice by 2015."The government's decision to achieve 100 per cent self-sufficiency in rice could be due to the real threat of world food crisis in 2008, where the country suddenly found itself unable to guarantee sufficient rice for the nation in the three-months in mid-2008."The food crisis in 2008 laid bare our persistent and perhaps increasing food insecurity nightmare," he said.At the moment, Malaysia had decreased its level of dependence on imported rice by 70 per cent.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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