Sabah records highest number of agricultural holdings in Malaysia
KOTA KINABALU (July 15): Sabah has the highest number of agricultural holdings in Malaysia, recording a total of 159,259, according to the Interim Report of the 2024 Sabah Agriculture Census released by the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) on Tuesday.
The launching ceremony of the report was officiated by Deputy Chief Minister I cum Sabah Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Industry, Datuk Seri Panglima Dr Jeffrey Kitingan, at the Sabah International Convention Centre (SICC).
Also present was Chief Statistician of Malaysia and Commissioner of the 2024 Agriculture Census, Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin, alongside heads of departments and representatives from federal and state agriculture agencies.
Jeffrey said the majority of the holdings are in the crops sub-sector, accounting for 140,018 holdings, followed by capture fisheries (14,903), livestock (2,242), aquaculture (2,164), and forestry and logging (162).
The data also highlights the demographic landscape of Sabah's agricultural sector, which consists of 156,635 individual holdings. Notably, over 70 per cent of these individual farmers are aged 46 and above. About 35 per cent of them reported having no formal education or academic qualifications.
'This provides us with a clear picture of Sabah's current agricultural profile. It also underscores the urgency to craft targeted and inclusive policies that will attract younger generations to participate in this sector,' Jeffrey said.
The Interim Report on Agricultural Labour revealed that 325,805 individuals are involved in agricultural activities across the state. This figure comprises 136,030 active owners and partners, 160,415 salaried workers and 28,676 unpaid family workers.
In terms of cultivated land, Sabah recorded 1.782 million hectares in 2023. Of this, 1.574 million hectares or 88.3 per cent were harvested areas, mostly under corporate agricultural holdings, particularly in oil palm plantations.
The sector also contributed significantly to Sabah's economy, recording total sales of RM25.06 billion in 2023.
Organisational or corporate agricultural holdings contributed the lion's share at 81.5 per cent, while individual holdings accounted for 18.5 per cent.
The crops sub-sector contributed 82 per cent of total sales, followed by livestock (7.9 per cent), capture fisheries (5.9 per cent), forestry and logging (3.0 per cent) and aquaculture (1.1 per cent).
Sabah remains among the top contributors to the nation's agricultural performance. It accounts for 17.4 per cent of national crop sub-sector sales, ranking within the top four states. For capture fisheries, Sabah is among the top three contributors with 13.8 per cent, while forestry and logging contributed 19.6 per cent of the national output.
At the district level, Keningau recorded the highest number of individual agricultural holdings in Sabah with 14,100, followed by Ranau (12,862) and Kota Marudu (12,627). In terms of sales value, Kinabatangan led with RM4.15 billion, followed by Tawau (RM3.93 billion) and Lahad Datu (RM3.50 billion).
Meanwhile, Uzir said that DOSM has published 15 Interim Reports of the 2024 Agriculture Census at the national level, detailing statistics for the overall agricultural sector and five specific sub-sectors, crops (both agri-commodity and agro-food), livestock, fisheries, aquaculture and forestry and logging.
Additionally, 14 more detailed reports have been released covering specific commodities and sectors including oil palm, rubber, paddy, pineapple, kenaf, cocoa, pepper, fruits, vegetables, other crops, livestock, fisheries, aquaculture and forestry and logging.
Uzir also stressed the importance of integrated digital data management in agriculture. DOSM has developed TaniStats, an integrated digital platform combining data from the 2024 Census, upstream and downstream sector statistics, food security indicators, the MyAgroPrice dashboard, and other agricultural data sources. He emphasised the need for inter-agency cooperation to keep the system updated and fully utilised.
Looking ahead, besides conducting the Agriculture Census every 10 years, DOSM plans to introduce short-term agricultural surveys starting in 2026 to ensure statistics remain relevant and responsive to current trends.
In the context of regional leadership, Malaysia will chair the 15th ASEAN Community Statistical System Committee (ACSS15) in 2025 to further strengthen regional statistical cooperation for sustainable development.
On the international front, Malaysia has achieved a milestone by ranking first globally in the Open Data Inventory (ODIN) 2024/25 report, surpassing 198 other countries, a significant leap from its 67th position in 2022/23.
In line with this achievement, the government has declared October 20 as National Statistics Day (MyStats Day), themed 'Statistics: The Pulse of Life'. The Fourth World Statistics Day will also be celebrated on October 20, 2025, themed 'Driving Change with Quality Statistics and Data for Everyone.'
Public access to data is available through OpenDOSM NextGen, a digital platform offering data catalogues and visualisations, accessible at https://open.dosm.gov.my.
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