PETALING JAYA: Former minister Khairy Jamaluddin has questioned the “yield” from the significant sum set aside for the agriculture sector in the 2024 budget.
Khairy said the government often invests large sums in the agriculture sector, but it still faces difficulties with producing better results.
“We always throw a lot (of allocations) at the agriculture sector, but improving productivity and increasing yield have always been a problem.
“I hope (the allocations) will really show increased yield, better use of technology and so on to ensure the problems we face (with food security) do not repeat,” he said during the Keluar Sekejap podcast today.
In unveiling the 2024 budget last week, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said RM3 billion would be allocated for a pilot project to increase padi harvests in Perak, Perlis and Kedah.
He also announced RM400 million to support food security programmes, as well as RM50 million in subsidies to increase padi production on hillsides, among others.
Anwar also announced a RM50 million seed fund for padi farmers under Skim Takaful Tanaman Padi, which would benefit over 240,000 farmers.
The nation has faced a rice shortage of late. Multiple external factors such as climate change, weakening foreign exchange rates, high operational costs, and regional conflicts saw Bernas announcing a 36% hike in the price of imported white rice on Sept 1.
India, the world’s largest exporter of rice, had also imposed a ban on the export of its non-basmati white rice from July 20, affecting Malaysia, which relies heavily on the import of rice to meet local demand.
The agriculture sector had received a RM5.39 billion allocation in Budget 2023, 12.06% higher than the RM4.81 billion in 2022. - FMT
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