Incentives for farmers to be disbursed by end of July
KUALA LUMPUR: The government will ensure that the disbursement of new and revised incentives for farmers is completed by July 31 to strengthen Malaysia's food security and agricultural sector.
Agriculture and Food Security Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Sabu said among the incentives were the ploughing incentive that was increased from RM100 to RM160 per hectare per season, and a new harvesting incentive of RM50 per hectare per season.
He said the decision was made following a meeting with the Committee on National Food Security Policy (JKKMN), chaired by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, on June 16.
"These incentives reflect the government's commitment to supporting our farmers and ensuring food supply sustainability. All payments will be completed before the end of July,"
He said the meeting also focused on strategic initiatives to reduce import dependency, boost local food production and accelerate modernisation in agriculture.
Among them was a proposal to improve the country's self-sufficiency rate in beef and buffalo meat, as well as support for the development of the Malaysian Food Composition Database (MyFCD) as part of the National Food Security Policy.
Mohamad said the government had agreed in principle to explore strategies to reduce reliance on imported grain corn, a key input in livestock farming.
"In addition, amendments will be made to the Protection of New Plant Varieties Act 2004 (Act 634) to provide more comprehensive protection for new plant varieties." He added that findings from the 2024 Interim Agriculture Census would guide future agricultural policies and development.
To modernise farming practices, the ministry is working with the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia to introduce a new syllabus for the Remote Pilot Certificate of Competency — Agriculture Light (RCoC-AL), targeting individual drone and unmanned aircraft system operators in the agriculture sector.
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