Year-end harvest helps ease local white rice supply

KUALA LUMPUR: The year-end rice harvest by the Muda Agricultural Development Authority (Mada) has helped ease the local white rice supply shortage in the country, says Agriculture and Food Security Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Sabu.

However, he said, the local rice supply in the country had not yet been fully stabilised due to high consumer demand.

“There is still (a shortage of local white rice) but the issue has eased... our rice (self-sufficiency rate) is only 65%, this local rice is in demand because the price of imported rice is expensive,” he told reporters after visiting the AU2 Taman Keramat Community Garden here yesterday.

Mada, according to Mohamad, is also in the process of replanting padi for next year’s supply.

Meanwhile, he encouraged city residents to get involved in food security efforts by opening community gardens in appropriate open spaces.

He said open spaces near residential areas could be utilised by planting cash crops such as chilli and lemongrass that would benefit the local community.

He added that the government, through the Prime Minister’s Department, had allocated RM1bil for community development projects, including agriculture.

At the same time, Mohamad advised those interested in urban farming activities to obtain approval from their local authorities to avoid any disruption to existing infrastructure.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, through Budget 2024, announced an allocation of RM1bil under the Madani Community Fund to support efforts to boost community economy.