PUTRAJAYA: Various initiatives and agenda have been planned by the Agriculture and Food Industries Ministry (MAFI) throughout the year to boost the industry and ensure the survival of industry players including farmers, livestock breeders and fishermen.

Its minister Datuk Seri Dr Ronald Kiandee said this included getting Agrobank to spearhead efforts to introduce farming or agrofood insurance protection schemes to the target groups nationwide.

He said the protection scheme would provide several takaful protection options to contributors affected by disasters, disease attacks and weather uncertainties which caused a drop in production and affected income.

"None of the insurance companies in Malaysia offer insurance policies for the agricultural sector while other agricultural countries such as Vietnam, the Philippines, China and even Indonesia do.

"The insurance scheme to be introduced by the ministry is still in the pipeline and we hope it will become a reality soon where the industry itself is encouraged to offer suitable models for agricultural insurance scheme," he told the media when presenting his ministry's one-year achievements yesterday.

Ronald said for a start Agro Bank would spearhead efforts to stimulate the growth of the agribusiness insurance industry. The ministry is also not stopping other insurance providers from creating such policies.

He said due to the lack of agricultural insurance, the government had to allocate RM80 million under the Agrofood Disaster Relief Fund to help padi growers, farmers and livestock breeders who lost their produce due to natural disasters under the 12th Malaysia Plan (12MP).

"The fund is used to help and ease the burden of those who face crop damages due to natural disasters but the amount borne by the government every year is huge.

"So the ministry sees the need to have a form of insurance for the industry especially those involving large scale padi fields. Agricultural insurance will definitely be a necessity for them," he said.

He said the initiative could indirectly maintain the involvement of farmers and livestock breeders in ensuring the security of food supply and at the same time it was a form of assistance to safeguard their well-being.

Ronald added the ministry's other major plan this year was the National Agro-food Policy 2.0 (NAP 2.0) 2021-2030 which was in the final drafting process and would be launched soon.

He said through NAP 2.0, the ministry would realign priorities in mobilising key thrusts to empower the agriculture sector and the food industry through a framework based on specific principles.

"It is to drive the agrofood sector to be highly competitive and innovative, ensure the well-being of farmers, fishermen and livestock breeders continue to be safeguarded and ensure sustainable food production for padi, fruits, vegetables, livestock and fisheries," he said.

Meanwhile, the National Food Security Policy action plan which is a reference and guide for civil servants and stakeholders related to the management of national food security issues will also be launched this year.

He said the action plan would strengthen the country's food security and enhance Malaysia's position in the Global Food Security Index (GFSI).

Ronald said the National Fisheries Development Plan 2021-2030 would also be introduced to include policies and strategic plans for the transformation of the sector by focusing on new approaches as well as continuous improvement through short, medium and long term strategies.

"The development of the fisheries sector in the future will take into account the sustainability of existing resources as well as ensuring the people have access to nutritious food resources at affordable prices.

"It will also increase the contribution of the fisheries sector to the national income as well as the socio-economy of fishermen and aquaculture operators with emphasis on resource management, fishermen development and strengthening the value chain," he said.

He said this year would also see the launch of the Tuna Industry Development Strategy 2021-2030 as well as new development plans for more comprehensive and competitive tuna development and management.

"The upside is the development of a competitive tuna industry as one of the new sources of wealth for the fishing industry players, which has the potential to be developed nationally and also has a very high demand abroad," he said.

Ronald said this year will also see the two biggest programmes being held namely the Malaysia Agriculture, Horticulture and Agrotourism International Show (MAHA) and the National Farmers, Livestock Breeders and Fishermen Day (HPPNK).

"MAHA 2021 and HPPNK 2021 are expected to attract more than 100,000 'hybrid' entries and have the potential to contribute to the sales value target of more than RM300 million, including business matching," he said.

-- BERNAMA