Issues and challenges of integrated agro-food supply chain: An overview of Malaysian food security

• Main Authors: Ariffin, Ahmad Shabudin, Abas, Zakaria, Baluch, Nazim Hussain
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: INSInet Publications 2015
• Subjects: HC Economic History and Conditions
• Online Access: http://repo.uum.edu.my/14980/1/curity.pdf; http://repo.uum.edu.my/14980/; http://www.ajbasweb.com/current.php
• Institution: Universiti Utara Malaysia

The Malaysian economy has experienced strong economic growth over the past few decades, averaging around 6 per cent a year since 2000. Income per person has become third highest in South East Asia trailing Brunei and Singapore in 2006.With rising incomes, food consumption has shifted away from starchy staples and moved toward wheat and livestock products, seafood, fruits and vegetables.Malaysia’s continuing economic growth and industrialisation are expected to place considerable pressure on its policy of increasing food self-sufficiency.With competitive pressure for resources from non-agriculture sectors, there is likely to be limited capacity to increase agricultural production.With the challenges including global warming, floods, droughts, increase in temperatures, changes in rainfall patterns and a rise in sea levels food production is on the decline; Malaysia is one of the many countries where food self-sufficiency is decreasing, year by year.Another weakness of the Malaysia agricultural sector is that it largely produces cash crops and little food.This paper explores interrelatedness of some complementary policy changes and initiatives in the selected Asian countries as well as reviews Malaysian National Food Security Policy (NFSP) that affects food production and food security.The paper concludes that in many important ways, the Malaysian Government still sees food security as a public mandate, especially in the case of rice and working diligently to increase food security for its nationals.