PETALING JAYA: In a world where millions of people go hungry daily while tonnes of fresh produce go to waste, Malaysia is taking decisive steps to bridge the gap.
From contract farming agreements that guarantee a steady supply of food at supermarkets to innovative food rescue initiatives, the Agriculture and Food Security Ministry is leading a coordinated effort to minimise waste and maximise food security.
The ministry told The Star that it has several contract farming agreements between farmers and supermarket chains, ensuring a steady supply of fresh produce to retailers.
“This arrangement helps in better planning and reduces the likelihood of surplus produce being discarded.
“The involvement of supermarkets in contract farming has created the relationship between farmers and buyers (supermarkets) that is mediated by the Federal Agricultural Marketing Authority (Fama),” it said.
The ministry added that it also collaborates with several key stakeholders to improve efficiency, adopt new technologies and enhance food safety strategies, scalable best practices and technological enhancements.
It said the MYSaveFood programme initiated in partnership with the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and led by the Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute (Mardi) focuses on developing projects aimed at reducing food loss and waste by fostering collaboration among stakeholders in the food supply chain.
“They have successfully created a sustainable network that now has more than 100 partners, both organisations and individuals.
“In 2023, through one of their partners, Pertubuhan Pemuda Gema Malaysia, the programme saved more than 16 tonnes of food and beverages from 60 Ramadan bazaars nationwide. The food was distributed to Orang Asli settlements, low-cost apartments, surau and mosques,” it added.
Among the measures to reduce food loss, the ministry said Mardi has developed and transferred post-harvest handling and storage techniques, such as cryogenic freezing, curing, drying, surface coating and controlled atmosphere storage.
“These technologies are valuable during production gluts and for food security stockpiling,” it said.
The ministry also referred to several initiatives used by the European Union as a prime example of successful efforts to improve its food redistribution networks.
“The initiatives include comprehensive guidelines to facilitate food donations, clear food safety guidelines, and collaboration with both public and private sector organisations, which have all played a role in ensuring the successful implementation of such programmes there.
“Another example is the Global Food Donation Policy Atlas project launched by the Harvard Law School Food Law and Policy Clinic and the Global Food Banking Network.
“The project identifies and explains national laws governing food donation, examines legal barriers and shares best practices for food redistribution.
“In Australia, organisations such as OzHarvest have effectively created systems for collecting surplus food from various sectors and distributing it to charities,” it said.
The ministry said under the National Agrofood Policy 2.0, it provides comprehensive strategies to improve the agrofood sector’s efficiency and sustainability.
“Currently, the agrofood sector is experiencing incidents of food loss, particularly in the post-harvest and food processing stages, which hinders the efficiency of the value chain.
“This means the ratio between input volume, such as farming inputs, cultivation cost and labour cost, is greater than the output volume (for example, the amount harvested and the amount of food produced), which is unfavourably skewed,” it said.
The ministry said Food Bank Malaysia (Pertubuhan Bank Makanan Malaysia), which was founded in 2020 in Kedah, in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, had the main aim of providing nutritious food to those in need and reducing food wastage.
The programme has since expanded to Kota Baru, Cyberjaya and other parts of Selangor.
Another initiative is Yayasan Food Bank Malaysia, an NGO dedicated to addressing food surplus by redistributing the food to B40 communities in higher learning institutions, charity homes, welfare centres and Program Perumahan Rakyat Termiskin (PPRT) through strategic partners.
“The government also supports NGOs such as The Lost Food Project and the Food Aid Foundation to address food surplus issues,” the ministry said.
