2023 Budget: Young Agropreneneur programme should continue to be empowered

An agropreneur, Azizul Julirin said the Young Agropreneur programme needed to be continued to attract more young people, especially in Sabah, to venture into agribusiness as preparation to face the possibility of a food security crisis.

In this regard, Azizul, who is also a youth activist, said that the government needed to increase, as well as continue, the grant for young agropreneneurs in the 2023 Budget, and also to improve the online application method and the real-time tracking system.

"This is necessary to overcome the issue of leakage and bureaucracy," he added.

The Young Agropreneur programme was introduced in 2016 through the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry (MAFI) to encourage youths, aged 18 to 40, to venture into agro-entrepreneurship based on the value chain of the agricultural sector such as crop production, livestock, fisheries, and food and agro-based industry.

The programme also serves as a platform to change the youth's perception of the agricultural sector as a viable industry, in addition to increasing the income of young agropreneurs through increased production productivity, product quality, the use of technology and innovation and the provision of a competitive market.

Azizul, who is Kundasang Aquafarm managing director, has been involved in agroponic farming since 2016 and helped to train more than 2,500 farmers since 2018, as well as conducted industrial training for 155 graduates from 14 institutions of higher learning.

The Kinabalu Area Farmers' Organisations Peladang Muda chief also hoped that the 2023 Budget would focus on having more Permanent Food Production Parks (TKPM) in each parliamentary constituency or district and to equip them with basic facilities such as roads, water and electricity supply, as well as the latest agricultural facilities.

"It is to open up opportunities for youths to participate in TKPM projects because with a reasonable rental rate of the TKPM, it will encourage more youths to venture into agro-food business and earn a satisfactory income," he said.

Azizul also said the function and role of the National Young Agropreneur Council should be empowered and placed under MAFI to provide a platform for the young agropreneurs to voice their views in the planning of activities and determining their direction.

He also suggested the government to have a stockpile in all states as a food storage centre, in addition to building a food estate for large-scale food production to reduce dependence on imports and meet the country's domestic needs.

"Special incentives and grants should also be given for the production of vegetable seeds and organic fertilizer to help farmers save and reduce farming costs," he added.

Meanwhile, Sabah Youth Council president Abqaree Fawwaz Abekan hoped that the 2023 Budget would, among other things, give priority to empowering the economy of youths, including in terms of their cost of living, tax incentives and financial assistance to help them start businesses.

"The year 2023 is expected to witness global economic challenges due to inflation, weakening of the Malaysian currency and disruption in the economic chain.

Abqaree also suggested the government to continue with the digitalisation of small businesses by allocating special funds for digital marketing purposes such as advertisements on social media, website development and e-mail marketing for small and medium enterprises.

"The government should also extend the business moratorium and relax the loan conditions, regardless of income class, as well as give incentives such as tax reductions to employers who provide assistance to women employees who are 'period poverty' (girls or their families women who can't afford to buy sanitary pads due to financial constraints)," he said.

He said the coverage and quality of broadband services in Sabah also needed to be improved and expanded with the construction of new towers as the facility is important to empower the digital economy among youths, including in rural areas.