FOOD security is a pressing concern, with governments in many countries, including Malaysia, taking active measures to ensure an adequate supply of essentials such as rice, vegetables and poultry for the local market.
Various states have also implemented measures to bump up production, and Perak is no different.
In fact, the Silver State has more than enough supply at hand, says Perak Agriculture Department.
Its director Norsiyenti Othman said some of the crops were in abundance, and were being sold to other states as well as exported elsewhere.
“We want the people to know that a lot of our crops have achieved the self-sufficient level (SSL), meaning that it is enough for the people in Perak.
“We send a lot of our produce to the Selayang and Seri Kembangan wholesale markets in Selangor,” she told StarMetro.
“We export items such as starfruit, sweet corn and sugarcane to countries like the United Arab Emirates, while edible foliage or leaves go to Japan,” she said.
Norsiyenti said Perak was Malaysia’s largest producer of okra, with about 23,000 tonnes produced in 2021.
“We have also been the largest producers of sweet corn and sweet potato in the country for the past 10 years,” she said, highlighting that about 23,000 tonnes of sweet corn and about 33,000 tonnes of sweet potato were produced in 2020.
“As for leafy greens, we are the third largest producer of spinach at about 9,200 tonnes, mustard greens at 17,000 tonnes and about 2,000 tonnes of kailan in 2020,” she said.
“Other crops that we have in abundance include cucumber, lettuce, long bean, cassava, sugar cane, brinjal, calamansi and guava,” she added.
However, Norsiyenti said some types of produce had not met the SSL yet.
“They include ginger, chilli, tomato, cabbage and fruits like mango, pineapple, watermelon and langsat,” she said, adding that the data collected was from the department’s registered farmers and that there could be more produce being sold in the local market by unregistered ones.
According to the Agriculture Department’s booklet on statistics for crops, Perak produced some 120,424 tonnes of vegetables, 89,081 tonnes of cash crops and 97,985 tonnes of fruits in 2020.
Cash crops include sweet corn, sugarcane, groundnut, sweet potato and jicama.
There are about 5,000 farmers involved in growing vegetables, 7,500 grow fruits and 3,150 plant cash crop.
Sultan of Perak Sultan Nazrin Muizzuddin Shah had in July said the country could face a food shortage crisis unless efforts were made to ensure the people’s needs are met.
Sultan Nazrin had said that there was already a food shortage, with prices on the rise caused by disruption to the supply chain due to the Russia-Ukraine war and depreciation of the ringgit.
He had called for the country to come up with strategic measures, including revisiting the Green Book Plan (Rancangan Buku Hijau) launched by the then prime minister Tun Abdul Razak Hussein in 1974 to curb excessive dependence on imported food.
Norsiyenti said the department’s short-term strategy to increase production of crops that did not meet the SSL, was to allocate more budget to aid the respective growers or farmers
“We will prepare the budget for farmers to grow more chilli, ginger, cabbage and other crops.
“As for crops that have achieved SSL, we will continue selling these, including value-added products like snacks such as sweet potato chips, to other states and abroad,” she said.
As for the long-term strategy, Norsiyenti said the department planned to maintain the level of production for all its crops, including rice.
“Last year, the Perak Mentri Besar chaired a meeting on district development and decided to maintain all padi fields in Kerian and Seberang Perak.
“These areas are to be used only for producing rice, and district officers have been instructed to reject applications for other developments or projects that are not related to rice,” she said.
“We will also try to look for new areas to develop Agro Food Parks.”
She said there were currently six Agro Food Parks, located in Gua Tempurung, Lekir, Degong, Slim, Sungkai and Titi Gantung.
“The ones in Gua Tempurung, Slim and Sungkai are collaborations with Perak government-linked companies such as the State Agriculture Development Corporation (SADC) and Perak State Secretary Incorporated.
“We are planning to add a seventh one, in Manong, so that we can produce more food.
“We have also advised other state agencies with land, like the Perak Islamic Religious Department, to rent them out to farmers,” she added.
Norsiyenti said the agency was serious about issues like food security.
“We will help farmers with financial and technical assistance so that they can increase food production.
“During the movement control order periods, we had also put up some of our lands for rent so that people who lost their jobs could go into farming,” she said.
She noted that more people were encouraged to take up urban farming to produce food for self-sustainability.
“We have given out about 30,000 urban farming sets.
“We used to campaign and advise people to grow edible plants for their enjoyment, but now it is more for their own (food) security,” she said.
“In 2021, we were allocated about RM31mil to encourage people to do urban farming and have given out equipment to individuals, schools, welfare homes and kindergartens,” she added.
Norsiyenti said the Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute (Mardi) had conducted a study on urban farming and found that it was able to help people reduce their expenses.
“It helped people to save between RM50 and RM70 per person.
“If a household has four people, they could save up to RM280,” she pointed out.
Community gardens
At Desa Tambun Indah in Ipoh, some residents have taken up urban farming in a community garden.
They have planted crops like spinach, bitter gourd, sweet potato, pumpkin, papaya, lemongrass, curry leaf, basil and pineapple, to be enjoyed by the community.
Led by Persatuan Rakan Prihatin Kinta Perak chairman Prof Dr Richard Ng, the garden, located on a 500m-long by 3m-wide area at the housing estate’s field, has been managed by eight residents since the third quarter of last year.
“I am very encouraged by this development where the community has come out to get involved.
“Previously, they were reluctant to do it for fear of being fined by Ipoh City Council enforcement officers,” said Prof Ng.
“Now, they can plant whatever they want to eat and have already had six harvests.
“They share the produce with the other residents. They can take whatever they want for their consumption but these are not meant to be sold,” he said.
“The community garden provides solutions to food security and safety issues.
“It is also therapeutic for the residents who spend time working together, and it provides the opportunity to get to know one another better,” he added.
Prof Ng, who is also Ipoh City councillor, said there was always a misconception that community gardens were not allowed to be set up, especially on state land or idle fields.
“The city council is encouraging people to take up community gardening.
“A guideline has also been developed (by Housing and Local Government Ministry) to facilitate it,” he said.
“For community gardens, it must involve the community in the area and is subject to the community’s agreement.
“Any community interested in setting up a community garden can apply directly through the city council’s Town Planning Department with an application fee of RM100,” he elaborated.
“Those interested in starting one can contact me,” he added.
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