Zahid: Strengthen agriculture sector through TVET

New Straits Times

4 days ago

KUALA KUBU BARU: The country's agricultural industry needs to be strengthened through Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) to reduce dependence on food imports, said Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
He said the move was important to ensuring food security, including in the dairy sector, to meet the needs of the domestic market.
Zahid, who is also Rural and Regional Development minister, said the National TVET Council is prepared to channel assistance and collaborate with agricultural training institutions nationwide to implement the initiative, especially through high-tech courses to attract the interest of young people.
"The existing modules are good, but in my view, integrating the Internet of Things (IoT) and modern teaching pedagogy into TVET is essential.
Learning should comprise only 30 per cent classroom sessions, with the remaining 70 per cent conducted in the field to give students real-world exposure to agriculture," said Zahid, who is also National TVET Council chairman.
He said this at a press conference after opening the groundbreaking ceremony of the Selangor Agricultural Development Corporation's (PKPS) "Ehsan Dairy Farm" Dairy Cattle Complex in Kuala Kubu Baru today.
Also present were Selangor Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari and PKPS Group Chief Executive Officer Datuk Dr Mohamad Khairil Mohamad Razi.
Zahid added that premium salaries should be offered to TVET graduates in the agricultural sector, rather than being tied to a minimum wage of RM1,700, to attract more young people to join the industry.
He said TVET graduates holding the Malaysian Skills Certificate (SKM) Level Three are eligible to receive a minimum salary of RM3,000, while those with SKM Level Five qualifications can earn up to RM5,000 a month.
"SKM Level Five is equivalent to a diploma, and due to strong market demand and high employability, it can command a premium salary of around RM5,000.
"This will certainly encourage young people to venture into this field," he said.
On "Ehsan Dairy Farm", Zahid described it as a game changer for PKPS in its efforts to boost local dairy production, thereby helping to reduce the country's reliance on imports.
"We import about 94.7 per cent of the country's dairy needs, which is worth RM4.6 million a year.
"The prime minister (Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim), when tabling the 13th Malaysia Plan recently, highlighted that one of the significant burdens we face is the need to import food products, including dairy, from abroad.
"This PKPS initiative is a proactive step towards significantly reducing our reliance on dairy imports," he said.
The Ehsan Dairy Farm, expected to begin operations in early 2026, will be located on about 16.7 hectares at the Sungai Tengi PKPS Farm.
It will house more than 1,200 high-quality Jersey-Holstein Friesian (F2) dairy cows from Australia, a country renowned for its expertise in industrial dairy farming.