MALAYSIA is ranked 39th in the Global Food Security Index 2021 by the Economist Intelligence Unit, far behind the United Kingdom (3rd), Finland (4th), Netherlands (6th), Japan (8th), the United States (9th), Singapore (15th), Qatar (24th) and Kuwait (30th).
Despite recording a slight improvement from an overall score of 68 in 2020 to 70.1 in 2021, the country scored "availability" and "natural resources and resilience" dimensions poorly — at 64 and 46.6, respectively.
For "affordability" and "quality and safety", Malaysia scored 85.6 and 76.3, respectively.
They point to Malaysia's long-standing structural problems in terms of import dependency and balance of payments (BoP) deficit for food items.
Our BoP deficit continues to be aggravated by markups from cost-push inflation that in turn worsens the cost of doing business and cost of living.
Russia is Malaysia's third top trading partner in the import of "mineral or chemical fertilisers and phosphatic" at US$4.77 million, a share of 16.2 per cent.
Western sanctions on Russia have led to a shortage of fertilisers worldwide, increasing the cost of animal feed and crops in Malaysia.
Livestock breeders and farmers had to charge retailers and consumers higher prices to compensate for the rising cost of feed ingredients, such as corn, soybeans and wheat, aside from the minimum wage increment of RM300 a month per employee from May 1.
To deal with the food price inflation effectively, Emir Research recommends:
• The Agriculture and Food Industries Ministry (Mafi), together with the Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute, Federal Agricultural Marketing Agency, Pertubuhan Peladang Kawasan, the private sector and non-governmental organisations, should incentivise quality investments in the agricultural sector.
There must be stronger collaboration and joint ventures to enhance food security and safeguard food prices against future shocks, reducing the risk of the cost of living being amplified in the long run.
• Empower small-scale farmers with tax incentives and generous credit (soft loans at zero-interest rate) and grants to improve their soil through applications like the Internet of Things, Big Data and artificial intelligence, aside from specialised training courses covering aspects of soil management, climate change, pest and water management.
Banks, with Mafi as the lead or key shareholder, should be formed specifically to fund smart farming.
• Encourage intercropping of oil palm with banana, cassava or pineapple in existing plantations. It would reduce fertiliser and herbicide use besides diversifying agricultural plantations dominated by palm oil, rubber and cocoa.
Mafi, the Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives and Youth and Sports ministries could craft training programmes and develop financial incentives targeted at youth involvement in the agricultural sector, who make up only 15 per cent of farmers in Malaysia.
The cross-ministerial effort would be helpful in attracting a younger generation of agropreneurs.
• Limit issuance of approved permits for imported products to certain categories of food that have a high self-sufficiency ratio.
In other words, liberalise our importation system for food to ensure a level playing field, and tackle monopolies and oligopolies.
• Expand domestic production of organic fertilisers and feedstock using oil palm biomass and waste, such as fronds, leaves and kernel meal.
• Utilise idle land and abandoned buildings to grow food crops, employing hydroponic, indoor and vertical farming technologies. Converting empty spaces into farms would encourage food production and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
We should adopt Singapore's approach to food security, increasing the ratio of food supplied by 2030 via urban farming.
• Focus on high-quality vegetables, fruits, animal proteins and fish farmed locally. This would generate higher value-added activities and a spillover effect in the food supply chain.
Our vision of food security should be based on creating interconnected food chains within the ecosystem, helping every Malaysian to buy high-quality food and enjoy sufficient nutritius food daily.
The writer is research analyst at Emir Research
