Plans to grow more greens for the city

A worker tending to his vegetable patch at the urban farm in Sri Malaysia flats. — YAP CHEE HONG/The Star

THE Federal Territories is looking at big-scale and indoor precision farming to produce high-quality vegetables as ways to enhance food security in the city.

Minister Tan Sri Annuar Musa said he also planned to start a commercial-sized urban farm project in Putrajaya to help grow, collect, distribute and market agricultural products.

“Urban farming is nothing new but I want to see urban farming that is commercial in nature and that incorporates modern farming techniques.

“I visited a few plots in Kuala Lumpur but the vegetables planted were mostly for personal consumption, ” he said.

He explained that traditionally, food products came from rural areas while certain foods were imported.

“The volume coming from outside or from other countries into the city is large.

“If we can produce vegetables locally, especially those from temperate countries, it will encourage others to pick up precision indoor farming in the city.

“So, I want to encourage commercial-scale urban farming to reduce the import of certain foods, ” he said during an exclusive interview with StarMetro at Menara DBKL, Jalan Raja Laut, Kuala Lumpur.

"I want to encourage commercial-scale urban farming to reduce the import of certain foods." -- Tan Sri Annuar Musa

Annuar also revealed his plan to introduce a mega urban farm project in Precinct 20, Putrajaya.

“We are still in the planning process and are looking at the collection, distribution and marketing of the products systematically.

“If possible, we want urban farms to register themselves with an online application that enables people to search and buy the vegetables via a digital platform.

“But now, I want to make sure that an anchor urban farming group which produces the biggest volume of agricultural products can take the lead in doing the marketing, ” he added.

Currently, there are 45 locations in Kuala Lumpur doing urban farming.

Annuar said one of the benefits of modern urban farms or precision farming was that not much space was needed.

“Instead of farming on the ground, it can be done vertically and indoors, such as vertical precision farming with controlled temperature, ” he explained.