PUTRAJAYA: Malaysia's ageing agricultural workforce and declining youth participation remain major challenges to food security despite strong employment growth among technical and vocational education and training (TVET) graduates, says the Agriculture and Food Security Ministry.
Ministry secretary-general Datuk Seri Isham Ishak said the latest Agricultural TVET study found that one in two plantation workers is aged 40 and above, while fewer young people enter the sector.
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He said agricultural TVET training remains concentrated in a few states, leaving high-potential farming states such as Johor, Pahang and Perak underutilised.
"The question before us is no longer whether we have sufficient resources, but whether we have the determination to fully harness the assets already available to us," he said during the study report presentation on Thursday (July 23).
Isham said findings would help shape future policies by aligning training programmes with state-specific needs, reducing risks for agricultural entrepreneurs and strengthening industry collaboration.
He said the study marks the first comprehensive analysis of seven years of administrative data involving graduates from agricultural TVET institutions under the ministry.
Despite structural challenges, the report recorded encouraging outcomes for graduates.
Isham said the graduate employment rate rose from 61% in 2018 to 76% in 2024 before reaching a record 85.92% in 2025.
Meanwhile, the graduate employability rate increased to 89.47% in 2025 from 81.23% a year earlier.
He noted that graduate employability includes those employed, pursuing further studies, undergoing upskilling programmes or awaiting placement, while employment rate refers only to those who secured jobs.
Four Malaysian Skills Certificate programmes achieved a 100% graduate employability rate last year, namely poultry, marine aquaculture, marketing and food processing.
Isham said findings were presented to the National TVET Council chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi on June 4.
The study was conducted by PNB Research Institute under a memorandum of understanding signed with the ministry in September 2025.
Isham said the collaboration would strengthen evidence-based policymaking to support the National Food Security Policy 2030, while encouraging greater public-private cooperation to build a resilient agri-food sector.
