Perlis FAMA Hopes For Empowerment Of IMAT Entrepreneurs Under Budget 2027

KANGAR, Oct 2 (Bernama) -- The Perlis Federal Agricultural Marketing Authority (FAMA) hopes that Budget 2027 will focus on efforts to empower entrepreneurs in the Food and Agro-based Industry (IMAT).

Its director, Mohd Anzara Azizan, said continuous support in the form of grants, training, mentoring, packaging, labeling, and digital marketing is crucial to helping these entrepreneurs increase their capacity and expand their market reach.

“Access to these grants and development programmes needs to be further strengthened so that more entrepreneurs, particularly micro and rural entrepreneurs, can enhance their business capacities,” he told Bernama.

He noted that Perlis FAMA currently assists 324 IMAT entrepreneurs, providing guidance on product improvement, branding, and marketing to ensure their products are ready for the wider market.

Additionally, Mohd Anzara hopes that support through Budget 2027 will bolster efforts to market agricultural produce and develop agrifood entrepreneurs in the state, particularly in addressing issues such as produce oversupply and commodity price fluctuations.

He said a key requirement at the state level is enhancing FAMA’s capacity to implement market interventions and purchase farmers' produce during periods of oversupply or price drops for specific commodities.

“With adequate support, FAMA can help market farmers' produce faster through existing channels, such as the FAMA Contract Farm programme and market interventions. This is vital to ensure farmers' produce remains connected to the market while simultaneously safeguarding their income,” he said.

Mohd Anzara said the supply chain and logistics facilities such as cold storage, transportation, and produce collection and processing centres are crucial to strengthen marketing of agricultural produce.

Meanwhile, an IMAT entrepreneur in Perlis, Noorhafizah Mazlan, 38, hopes the government will consider increasing grant values ​​or providing cash capital injections to support the business operations of Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) entrepreneurs like herself.

Noorhafizah, who produces sambal-based products such as all-purpose sambal paste, green sambal with anchovies and petai, and green sambal with anchovies, said such support greatly assists SME entrepreneurs in facing the challenge of rising production costs.

"SME entrepreneurs like me also face stiff competition from more established brands and market limitations, as I have not yet obtained halal and MeSTI certifications; these require specific procedures to meet approval criteria," said Noorhafizah, who received assistance from FAMA including packaging and equipment through the Young Agropreneur Grant (Geran Agropreneur Muda) worth RM25,000.

She noted that her products are currently sold via social media platforms including TikTok, Facebook, Shopee, and AgroBazaar Online and are also stocked at several mini-markets and petrol stations across the state.

-- BERNAMA