KLUANG: Johor's economic stability has positioned it as Malaysia’s main contributor in the agriculture sector, says Datuk Arthur Joseph Kurup.
The Agriculture and Food Security Deputy Minister added that Johor's economic performance experienced encouraging growth in 2023 with an increase rate of 4.1% in its gross domestic product (GDP), which is equivalent to RM148.2bil.
“Of that amount, the agricultural sector is the third highest contributor to its GDP with 11.6% or RM17.2bil. This elevates Johor as the largest contributor to the agricultural sector in Malaysia,” he added.
Arthur said this in his speech during a town hall session with local farmers at Kluang Area Farmers Organisation (PPK) here on Thursday (Sept 12).
He also said the crop subsector was the largest contributor in Johor’s agricultural sector, with a contribution of 67.8% followed by the livestock subsector (25.36%) and the fisheries subsector (6.59%).
“With a strong and stable state government driven by a clear direction in the agro-food industry, Johor has made a name for itself as the largest pineapple producer in the country in addition to having the largest livestock food production permanent park that can drive ruminant farming projects.
“The Federal Government, through the ministry, will always support the efforts of the state government in empowering the national agro-food agenda,” he added.
Arthur said for this year, the ministry has allocated more than RM70mil to the Johor government that would be implementing development projects covering livestock, crop, aquaculture and other sectors including as an example the modern agricultural infrastructure development project here.
He added from that amount, some RM19.2mil was allocated to the Johor government under the Agriculture and Food Security Ministry’s cooperation programme to optimise land use towards national food security.
Arthur said the programme, which was held for the first time, was a quick-win initiative between both the ministry and state government to implement high-impact projects such as the Johor Future Agropreneur (JFA) project, the Johor permanent food production strengthening park programme and many more.
He added that he believed that Johor’s good achievement in the agricultural sector was the result of several factors including a stable and strong government that has a clear vision, mission and agenda to drive the state's agricultural sector.
“With the existence of a strong and stable state government, it is easier to cooperate with the Federal Government.
“Both governments shared the same mission in driving the agriculture sector, which has been successfully implemented in the state as a result of the full support coming from farmers and industry players at the grassroots level,” he said.
