Latest news with #2024AgricultureCensus
The Star
5 days ago
- Business
- The Star
Govt clearing path for more young farmers
Sowing seeds of progress: Saarani (centre) at a ceremony for Fama Fest 2025 @ Perak at the Gopeng Rural Transformation Centre, flanked by Arthur (left) and Fama chairman Aminuddin Zulkipli. — Bernama GOPENG: The Agriculture and Food Security Ministry is intensifying efforts to attract more youth into agriculture as the country grapples with an ageing farmer population, says Datuk Arthur Joseph Kurup. Acknowledging that many farmers were now in their 60s, the Deputy Minister said the issue was not unique to Malaysia but part of a global trend. The country is implementing targeted measures to address the issue, he added. 'We are taking proactive steps to attract more young people to take part in the agriculture sector,' he told reporters after joining Perak Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Saarani Mohamad to close the Fama Fest 2025 at the Gopeng Rural Transformation Centre, yesterday. Arthur was commenting on the preliminary findings from the 2024 Agriculture Census, which noted that Malaysians aged over 60 make up the largest segment of the country's farmers while around 90% of farmers had only completed their education up to the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia level. The census – the first in more than two decades – aims to provide a comprehensive picture of the country's agricultural and food production landscape. Arthur said among the key initiatives was organising programmes such as Fama Fest to create wider market access for young agropreneurs. He said these events not only helped promote and sell agricultural products but also highlighted the sector's potential for generating lucrative income. 'We want to show that the agriculture and agri-food industry is a viable and profitable career path. 'The ministry is also advocating for a shift away from conventional farming methods to modern, technology-driven agriculture,' said Arthur. 'This includes the use of innovation in every aspect of the industry, from production to operations, and creating a broader ecosystem of employment opportunities,' he added. Arthur said the ministry was also actively promoting agricultural Technical and Vocational Education and Training programmes. 'These courses, which cover areas such as livestock, fisheries and vegetable farming, are fully funded by the government, including accommodation and daily expenses, to make them more accessible to youth. 'There is also a need for cooperation from state governments. It is important that land and financing are made available to ensure young people have the resources to grow and expand their agricultural ventures.' Arthur said the ministry hoped that these combined efforts would revitalise the sector, ensuring food security and sustainability for the future.
Free Malaysia Today
5 days ago
- Business
- Free Malaysia Today
Ageing farmers threaten food security, productivity, says Fadillah
(From left) Energy transition and water transformation secretary-general Zaidi Karli, deputy agriculture and food security minister Arthur Joseph Kurup, deputy prime minister Fadillah Yusof, economy secretary-general Nor Azmie Diron and chief statistician Uzir Mahidin at the launch of the 2024 Agriculture Census interim report. SERDANG : Malaysia's agriculture sector is facing serious challenges because of an ageing workforce, with nearly half of the country's farmers now aged 60 and above, says deputy prime minister Fadillah Yusof. He said the issue is affecting productivity and the country's ability to sustain domestic food production. 'To ensure the sector's sustainability, we must attract more youths to agriculture. 'Without a skilled and competitive younger generation, our goal of reducing import dependence and ensuring national food security will be difficult to achieve,' he said at the launch of the 2024 Agriculture Census interim report today. The report showed that 45.4% of individual agricultural operators are aged 60 and above, while only 22.2% are aged between 15 and 45. Another 32.3% are aged 46 to 59. Fadillah said better incentives, the use of modern technology, and efforts to improve the image of farming as a career are needed to attract younger talent. Chief statistician Uzir Mahidin said Sabah recorded the highest number of young farmers, totalling 6,180, aged 15 to 30, followed by Perak (5,149) and Sarawak (3,583). For farmers aged 60 and above, Sarawak topped the list with 63,452, followed by Kedah (61,886) and Sabah (57,007). Uzir said agriculture remains a key part of Malaysia's economy, not just for food supply but also for supporting the processing industry, creating jobs and raising household incomes, particularly among farmers. He said the agriculture census will now be conducted every 10 years, with shorter, interim surveys starting in 2026 to provide more timely data. The last agriculture census was carried out 19 years ago. Also launched at the event was the TaniStats portal, which aims to improve access to agriculture-related data for farmers, policymakers and stakeholders. It includes platforms such as TaniFacts, myFoodStats, myAgrochain and the MyAgroPrice dashboard. The dashboard provides monthly price data for 60 selected agricultural products at farm, wholesale and retail levels, according to states, from 2020 to 2024. Fadillah said this would help farmers plan marketing strategies and assist policymakers in tracking price trends and designing targeted interventions. Data from the statistics department showed that Malaysia imported 60% of its food supply in 2022. Only 24 local agricultural items recorded growth in production that year, compared with 28 in 2021.
The Star
30-05-2025
- Business
- The Star
Ageing farmers a worrying trend
SERDANG: Malaysians aged over 60 make up the largest segment of the country's farmers, while around 90% of all farmers have only completed education up to the SPM level, according to preliminary findings from the 2024 Agriculture Census. Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof, who announced the interim results yesterday, said the census, the first in more than two decades, aims to provide a comprehensive picture of Malaysia's agricultural and food production landscape. 'With the 2024 Agriculture Census, we now have current, comprehensive baseline data for the agriculture sector. 'The last data collection of this scale was conducted over 20 years ago,' he said in his speech when announcing the census' interim report. Fadillah, who chairs the Cabinet Committee on Food Security, said the data would serve as a foundation for crafting evidence-based policies and for strengthening the planning, implementation and monitoring of agricultural initiatives. The census began in mid-2024 and was led by the Statistics Department under the Economy Ministry, in collaboration with 1,390 federal, state and district-level agencies. Elaborating on some of the main findings, Fadillah said the data revealed challenges and obstacles the agricultural sector faces in contributing to the country's food security. For instance, out of the more than 1.03 million agricultural entrepreneurs, over 1.008 million are individuals, with only about 21,000 being group entities. The age profile of these farmers also highlights a concerning trend: 45.6% are aged over 60, 32.3% are between 46 and 59 years old, and only 22.2% fall between the ages of 15 and 45. 'The predominance of senior citizens among individual farmers directly impacts farm productivity and the nation's capacity to increase domestic production and sustain the agriculture sector as a whole,' Fadillah said. He also noted that 90.1%, or 909,114, of individual farmers only possess SPM-level education, which could pose challenges in modernising the sector. 'Although there is no direct link between education level and farming productivity, it plays an important role in enabling farmers to make accurate decisions, access the latest information and adopt modern farming practices.' Another critical finding is that out of the 7.5 million hectares of agricultural land in Malaysia, about 5.8 million hectares are dedicated to oil palm and 700,000ha to rubber. In contrast, food crops, of which rice is the largest, occupy just 500,000ha. 'Among the biggest challenges for individual farmers is limited land, especially plots smaller than five acres (2.02ha). Small plot sizes significantly impact productivity and crop yields. 'This affects not only farmers' incomes but also threatens long-term growth of the sector.' The census also revealed the sector's heavy dependence on migrant labour, with 474,000 of the 1.4 million agricultural workers being foreigners, Fadillah added. 'This shows that the sector is still dependent on migrant workers in order to sustain itself.' To ensure continuous data-driven policy-making, Fadillah announced that the agricultural census will now be conducted every 10 years, with interim surveys beginning in 2026 to help monitor developments more effectively. The public will be able to access statistics on the industry through a one-stop terminal called TaniStats, which will include macro-level industry data (TaniFacts), value chain information of agriculture products (myAgrochain) and food-related data (myFoodStats). The MyAgroPrice portal, on the other hand, will allow users to compare farm, wholesale and retail prices of various food products.
New Straits Times
29-05-2025
- Business
- New Straits Times
Malaysia to conduct agriculture census every 10 years
SERDANG: The Agriculture Census will now be conducted every 10 years to ensure baseline data remains relevant and aligned with current and future challenges, said Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof. He said the move will help strengthen the agricultural sector's data infrastructure. "With the 2024 Agriculture Census, we now have comprehensive and up-to-date baseline data for the sector, something that hasn't been done in over two decades. "This data provides a crucial foundation for evidence-based policymaking, enabling more accurate, inclusive and effective planning, as well as implementation and monitoring," he said in his speech at the launch of the 2024 Agriculture Census Interim Report today. Also present were Deputy Agriculture and Food Security Minister Datuk Arthur Joseph Kurup and Chief Statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin. The last time Malaysia conducted an Agriculture Census was in 2005. Fadillah said short-term agriculture surveys would also be carried out periodically starting next year to improve data availability and support continuous sector monitoring. Meanwhile, the 2024 Agriculture Census — conducted by the Department of Statistics Malaysia from July 7 to Oct 10 last year — covered households and business organisations involved in agricultural activities. It included food crops and commodities, livestock, fisheries and aquaculture, as well as logging and forestry. Fadillah said what was presented in the report was not merely data, but a symbol of the commitment and dedication of all parties involved. Touching on the findings of the 2024 Agriculture Census, Fadillah, who is also the energy transition and water transformation minister, said 458,395 individuals (45.4 per cent) of agricultural operators are aged 60 and above, while 326,287 (32.3 per cent) are between the ages of 46 and 59. Meanwhile, 224,147 agricultural operators (22.2 per cent) are aged between 15 and 45. "There is a need to rejuvenate the agriculture sector by attracting the participation of the younger generation in this field. "Without a skilled and competitive workforce among the youth, the goal of strengthening national food security and reducing reliance on imports will be difficult to achieve," he said. Fadillah urged all parties, including policymakers and researchers, to leverage the statistics to chart directions and interventions in the agriculture sector, especially in addressing national food security issues. At the event, the Agriculture Products Price Dashboard (MyAgroPrice) was also launched. It is another key initiative for the digitisation of the country's agricultural statistics. The dashboard displays average prices for 60 selected agricultural products across three key stages of the supply chain — farm, wholesale, and retail levels — by state, over a monthly time series from 2020 to 2024. MyAgroPrice adds value for farmers by providing accurate and accessible price information, helping them to better plan marketing strategies and reduce the price information gap among industry players. The dashboard plays an important role for policymakers to monitor price stability, identify market trends, and design more targeted interventions for the well-being of the people and the nation's food security.
