KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 24 — The Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (KPKM) aims to achieve a 100 per cent Self-Sufficiency Ratio (SSR) for fresh milk production by 2028 through the implementation of various capacity-building programmes.
Its minister, Datuk Seri Mohamad Sabu, said the National Dairy Industry Development Programme 2021-2025 has already achieved its production target of 20 million litres within five years, demonstrating the effectiveness of the initiatives.
He said that in tandem with the rise in local production, the fresh milk SSR showed an upward trend from 2021 to 2023.
“The fresh milk SSR rose from 56.7 per cent in 2021 to 57.3 per cent in 2022, reaching 66.8 per cent in 2023.
“However, there was a marginal dip of 0.1 per cent to 66.7 per cent in 2024 due to several factors, including lower participation among small-scale breeders,” he said during a Special Chamber session in the Dewan Rakyat today.
Mohamad was replying to a question from Datuk Mumtaz Md Nawi (PN-Tumpat) regarding the effectiveness of the National Dairy Industry Development Programme 2021-2025.
To achieve the 100 per cent target by 2028, Mohamad said KPKM is implementing the National Dairy Production Strengthening Project under the 13th Malaysia Plan with a RM30 million allocation to increase livestock population and provide modern equipment.
To address the impact of rising animal feed costs on fresh milk prices, he outlined several intervention measures.
This includes developing 136,527 hectares of cultivation land to produce 1.25 million tonnes of animal feed annually, developing high-potential maize varieties and researching local alternatives such as palm kernel cake, soy waste, and moringa leaves to reduce import dependency.
Additionally, the government will launch a campaign this year to promote local fresh milk to raise public awareness of its benefits. It is also to encourage the consumption of natural milk without added sugar to boost domestic demand. — Bernama
