KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia has enough physical rice stocks to last for about five and a half months in the event of emergencies, says Datuk Seri Mohamad Sabu.
The Agriculture and Food Security Minister said Malaysia currently has about 1,089,285 metric tonnes of rice as of Feb 3.
This comprises 200,000 metric tonnes of buffer stock and 889,285 metric tonnes of trade stocks.
Mohamad said this was among the measures taken to ensure continuous food supplies in the event of disasters.
Other measures include conducting a pilot project for padi planting over land spanning 3,000 hectares.
This was conducted in stages beginning in 2024 under areas managed by the Muda Agricultural Development Authority (Mada).
“There are also phased efforts to upgrade and modernise water management systems in the agriculture sector through cooperation with the private sector, as a means to optimise water management during floods and droughts,” he said during question time in the Dewan Rakyat on Wednesday (Feb 25).
He also highlighted the padi planting takaful scheme that provides protection for small-scale padi farmers impacted by disaster.
Here, compensations of up to RM3,000 per hectare are available for damages to be cropped.
“A disaster fund also channels immediate aid to target groups impacted by disaster, crop diseases or pest attacks,” he said, adding that some RM5.04mil was channelled to about 2,255 farmers, covering damages over 3,253.4 hectares.
“The Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute (Mardi) is also carrying out research, development and innovation activities to develop variations of padi and other crops that are tolerant to droughts, floods and salinity,” he added.
According to Mohamad, efforts are also being taken to strengthen the beef cattle industry for breeding purposes through the Ruminant Enhancement Programme and the Ruminant Livestock Breeding Programme.
“In addition, beef cattle output is being enhanced through the Beef Cattle Productivity Incentive Programme aimed at achieving a national average calving rate of 60%,” he said, noting how the ministry is also developing and expanding early warning systems for pests through close cooperation with the Malaysian Meteorological Department.
“The ministry remains committed to improving the durability of the national agrofood ecosystem when faced with disasters and will work to ensure food security is always retained,” he added.
Mohamad was responding to a question by Zakri Hassan (PN-Kangar) who asked about steps taken to ensure continuous food supplies for the country when faced with disasters such as floods and climate change.
