Special Select Committee Visits Perak To Review Food Security Drive

PARIT, April 21 (Bernama) -- The Special Select Committee on Domestic Trade, Entrepreneurship, Cost of Living and Agriculture has begun a three-day working visit to Perak, aimed at strengthening the agricultural sector and addressing issues related to national food security.

Its chairman Cha Kee Chin said the first day of the visit focused on the agricultural sector, including the onion planting project in Sungkai, which is seen as a new initiative with strong growth potential.

According to the Rasah MP,the local onion planting initiative was initiated following disruptions to import supplies several years ago, opening up space for the development of domestic resources through the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (KPKM) and agencies such as the Agriculture Department and the Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute (MARDI).

“The project involves an area of about 1.2 hectares and has shown encouraging results, with five planting and harvesting cycles carried out. I was told that more areas will be allocated for the onion planting project in Perak.

“This crop is still new, but it is a good start, even as local production is still insufficient. The KPKM target is to achieve at least 20 per cent local production by 2030,” he told Bernama during his visit to the Titi Gantong Food Production Permanent Park (TKPM) today.

During the same visit, the committee also inspected the sweet corn cultivation project, which is seen as having strong potential in the local market.

“This sweet corn production will not only meet local demand but also create job opportunities for rural residents and young people.

“If it is not done locally, we will continue to depend on imports, which will lead to an outflow of national funds,” he said.

Cha stressed that the committee would remain committed to supporting all efforts to strengthen national food security in the interest of Malaysians.

“Each working visit will be followed by an engagement session with relevant agencies in Parliament before an official report is prepared and submitted.

“The report will be tabled for debate in the Dewan Rakyat to ensure that all proposals and findings are given due attention by ministries and relevant agencies,” he said.

He said the COVID-19 pandemic experience, which affected import supply chains, should serve as a lesson in planning the national food security strategy.

The delegation is also scheduled to visit several other locations, including the Manjung Utara Fishermen’s Base in Pantai Remis, freshwater fish and shrimp farming sites in Bagan Datuk, as well as the FELCRA Plantation Services Sdn Bhd Padi Seed Centre in Seberang Perak.

--BERNAMA