Agrofood Sector Contributes RM45.5 Bln To GDP In Q1 2025 - Mohamad

KLANG, July 10 (Bernama) -- The agrofood sector contributed RM45.5 billion or 11 per cent to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the first quarter of this year, said Agriculture and Food Security Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Sabu.

He said the food services subsector recorded the highest contribution at RM22.1 billion, followed by the crops, livestock and fisheries subsector (RM13.9 billion) and the food and beverage subsector (RM9.7 billion).

“We all know that the agrofood sector is not just about the economy, it is also about survival… matters related to food security and the nation’s future.

“That is why the ministry remains committed to ensuring the sector continues to grow in a healthy and sustainable manner,” he said in his speech at the Agrofood Development Seminar 2025 organised by the Agriculture Department here today.

Mohamad noted, however, that Malaysia still lags behind Indonesia in terms of self-sufficiency ratio (SSR) for rice, despite having a much smaller population of around 34 million.

He said Malaysia’s SSR for rice stands at around 65 per cent, posing a challenge for the ministry in its efforts to increase the figure.

Mohamad added that the country had lost about 20,000 hectares of padi land due to modernisation, as landowners converted their land status or usage for housing or other developments without any replacements.

“To address this, we are intensifying efforts to revive idle padi lands, including in Melaka, Negeri Sembilan, Johor, Sabah and Sarawak, to make up for the lost production.

“With modernisation to increase yield, we aim to optimise existing padi areas. If we can achieve seven metric tonnes per hectare, we will meet our SSR target. At present, yields are around four to five tonnes, with higher outputs of seven or eight tonnes only seen in Sekinchan and a few areas in Selangor,” he said.

Commenting on the findings of the Department of Statistics Malaysia’s Agricultural Census 2024, which showed that nearly half of the country’s farmers are aged 60 and above, the minister said the issue would take time to resolve.

However, Mohamad said that based on the ministry’s observation, padi farming is slowly gaining traction among the younger generation, although more needs to be done to sustain their involvement.

He said this trend was emerging in large-scale padi farming areas, such as Negeri Sembilan and Johor, while traditional padi cultivation areas, like Kedah and Kelantan, are still dominated by older farmers.

As such, Mohamad said the ministry would continue encouraging youth to take over farming from ageing farmers, particularly in padi cultivation, by embracing modern technologies.

“Older farmers exist in every country, but replacing them quickly is not easy. But there has been an encouraging trend in the number of young people taking up padi farming using modern technology such as drones, as seen in areas like Sabak Bernam in Selangor and parts of Kedah,” he said.

-- BERNAMA