Pak Lah wants an agricultural revolution

Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has very fond memories of his childhood. 

Growing up in Kepala Batas - a small town with a very good racial mix and surrounded by padi fields and rubber estates - he enjoyed his schooling. He had many friends - Malays, Chinese and Indians - and they remain good friends till today. 

They would go fishing, catching birds and fighting fish, flying kites and spinning gasing. He and his bosom pal, the late Datuk Abdul Fatah Abdullah, who became his political secretary, used to walk the main street of Kepala Batas with baskets of mangosteen. By the time they reached the end of the street, they would have sold all the mangosteens. Pak Lah also enjoyed scouting. Those were the simple, carefree days of youth. 

Today, as Prime Minister, Abdullah wants to bring about a revolution in agriculture - a revolution that would bring tangible benefits to Malaysia’s farmers as well as make Malaysia a centre for agro-based industries and biotechnology. He wants agriculture to be one of the engines of growth. 

This is a huge challenge for Abdullah’s administration, but if the Prime Minister’s initiative succeeds, it would be a great achievement. 

The challenge is huge because for some time now our agricultural sector has fallen into a state of benign neglect as the country rushed headlong into industrialisation. 

It’s ironic, but many Malaysian leaders see agriculture as a backward, depressed sector. 

Once, during the late 70s, I attended a press briefing by a senior minister who was talking about the need to modernise the Malays to “eradicate race with occupation;” one of the main objectives of the New Economic Policy. 

I asked the minister why didn’t the government encourage the Chinese to go into farming. He turned and glared at me, saying: “Why should the government do this? I don’t want to impoverish the Chinese.” 

BOOST FOR AGRICULTURE: Abdullah holding up the 'jambu air' when visiting a booth at the venue of the Conference on the Direction of the Agriculture Sector and Agro-based Industry recently. Behind him is Agriculture and Agro-Based Industry Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.

But it’s not true that a farmer is condemned to a life of poverty. 

Pak Lah recognises that. He knows that small-time farmers need not be poor or occupy the lower ranks of society if they are prepared to work hard and if they are given some government assistance, in the form of good planting material, fertilisers, advice, and get access to an effective network of credit and marketing facilities. In short, the supply chain must be in place. And he wants government assistance to incorporate an element of changing the mindset of farmers.  

Take the Netherlands, a country the size of Pahang, but with 17 million people. Dutch farming is intensive and the sector is very well organised. About a fifth of the country is reclaimed from the sea through the building of dykes. The Dutch farmers tend their farms or cows well. For miles and miles, you see neat rows of well-irrigated fields of wheat and sunflower or contented cows, pregnant with milk, grazing on rich pasture. 

Mention tulips, and you instantly associate them with the Netherlands. That’s world branding. 

Another small state that has a highly developed agricultural industry is Taiwan. It is again about the size of Pahang but with a population of 23 million. Taiwan’s agricultural productivity is among the world’s highest. In both countries, the farmers’ cooperatives play a significant role in uplifting the standard of living of its members - something which Pak Lah wants our farm cooperatives to emulate.  

Both the Netherlands and Taiwan are basically self-sufficient in food. 

On the other hand, Malaysia incurs a huge food import bill of RM13bil a year, and this is rising. 

Abdullah has set the target for Malaysia to become a net exporter of food products by 2010. 

To do that would require more than just modernising the small farm sector. It would involve the growth of agro-based industries and the development of a biotechnology industry. 

The Prime Minister wants Government-linked companies (GLCs) to take the lead in these ventures. In a small way, companies like Sime Darby, Guthrie Group are already doing so, but they and other GLCs can do very much more.  

Malaysia does have some successful agro-based companies. One that comes to my mind is a low-profile group, called Tropical Consolidated, controlled by Penang-based businessman, Datuk Tan Boon Pin. His group is now one of the largest seafood processing groups in the world. Tan had a long business relationship with a South Australian food processor, Safcol. When the parent company of Safcol got into financial difficulties, he bought over Safcol in 1991. Today, Tan’s companies own some of the world’s leading brands of seafood and pet food. 

Another successful agro-based business is publicly listed QL Resources Bhd, run by brothers. Their father was a fishermen. The company has two plants in Hutan Melintang and Endau processing fish paste for local and export markets. A third plant in Tuaran, Sabah, will be opened next week. 

Pak Lah feels that one project that is eminently feasible and achievable is to develop Malaysia as a “halal hub.” This was the subject of his keynote address at the Malaysia International Halal Showcase in Kuala Lumpur on Monday. 

As a model Islamic nation with a good economic infrastructure, Malaysia is well positioned to be a processing and export hub for food, including halal food, not just to the Muslim world, but to people from diverse races and religions. 

Abdullah has promised to match his vision with firepower, i.e. money and political will. In his capacity as Finance Minister, he is expected to deliver his first budget on Sept 10 that will contain an incentive package designed to give a powerful boost to a strategic industry - agriculture.