Malaysia To Strengthen Food Security By Providing Crop Insurance

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Malaysia will be taking a key step to strengthen food security. It will offer insurance plans that will be backed by the government mainly to help farmers as a form of compensation for losses caused by natural disasters.

The name of the scheme is Agro-Food Takaful Insurance Scheme. Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob declared that it will be launched through the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industries and will initially be offered to the rice farmers of the nation. The total number of such farmers is a whopping 189,500.

The insurance cover will be extended to include other sectors like fisheries and other sub sectors of the food industry, he said at the launch of the 2022 Malaysian Agriculture, Horticulture and Agro Tourism Exhibition on Saturday. “This extension will come in stages, and will include the other disciplines of agriculture.”

The modernisation and introduction of smart agriculture is a crucial agenda. It is also among the main focus to drive the sustainable, resilient and technology driven agro food sector of the country. “On this matter, the government will be providing continuous focus to the agro food sector by improving productivity and ensuring food security at national level. At the same time, it will also be driving the growth of the people in terms of both economic and their personal well being. Indeed, the government is in the process of developing various initiatives and efforts. This is being done in an effort to bring food security to people. The main aim of these initiatives is that the people could obtain adequate and secure food supply at prices that are reasonable and affordable,” he said

Malaysia which is a net food importer country is taking proactive steps to grow their domestic supplies of grains and poultry as nations around the world battle rising food costs mainly caused due to disruptions caused by the invasion of Ukraine by Russia. Unlike neighbors which include countries like China and Indonesia, Malaysia is still one of the countries that do not yet have crop insurance, state news agency Bernama reported in July, citing Agriculture Minister Ronald Kiandee.