PUTRAJAYA: The government will ensure that all payments for the ploughing and harvesting incentives to farmers are completed by July 31, says Datuk Seri Mohamad Sabu.
The Agriculture and Food Security Minister said the total amount of the incentive was RM210, comprising RM160 for ploughing and RM50 for harvesting.
He added that the matter had been discussed at the Cabinet Committee on National Food Security Policy (FSCC) Meeting 1/2025, chaired by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, on June 16.
"The meeting focused on strategic initiatives to strengthen the country’s food security and boost the growth of the agriculture and agro-food sectors.
"Various other initiatives were also discussed, including strategies to increase the country’s self-sufficiency rate (SSR) for beef and buffalo meat to ensure the sustainability of the national food supply,” he said in a statement on Saturday (June 28).
The ministry on June 11, announced an increase in the ploughing incentive rate and introduced a harvesting incentive, providing total cash assistance of RM210 per hectare to padi farmers each season, benefiting around 130,000 farmers across the peninsula.
Mohamad also said the government welcomed the development of the Malaysian Food Composition Database (MyFCD) as a strategic component of the National Food Security Policy.
He said the meeting had also agreed in principle to explore effective strategies to reduce dependence on grain corn imports to ensure the industry’s sustainability and growth.
"In addition, the proposed amendment to the Protection of New Plant Varieties Act 2004 (Act 634) will be implemented to provide more comprehensive protection for new plant varieties,” he said.
Mohamad said policy planning would continue to be strengthened based on the findings of the 2024 Agricultural Census Interim Report for the agricultural sector’s growth.
He said that, as part of efforts to modernise the agricultural sector, the strategic cooperation between KPKM and the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia would be enhanced with the introduction of the Remote Pilot Certificate of Competency - Agriculture Light (RCoC-AL) syllabus for private unmanned aircraft system.- Bernama
