KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 22 — The Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Ministry is targeting a 30 per cent increase in grain corn production for the animal feed industry in the next five years.
Its minister Datuk Salahuddin Ayub said this was to meet the demand and accommodate the need for animal feed while reducing the dependence on imported grain corn.
According to Salahuddin, his ministry’s new direction launched in February, they have a clear plan and were also trying to bridge the country’s Balance of Trade (BOT).
In the meantime, Salahuddin said the efforts of the 2019 Agrobank Agropreneur Award winner, K. Ramana Naidu who is among the country’s major grain corn producers, clearly shows the importance of the animal feed industry in the future.
“We seriously want to build an animal feed industry, it is proven that he (K. Ramana Naidu) planted 800 acres (323.75 hectares) of corn and succeeded. I was told that he was a pilot, willing to quit his job and grow grain corn.
“This is proof that we can supply (animal feed). So if Pak Amran (Andi Amran Sulaiman, Indonesia’s Minister of Agriculture) is proud that he has enough corn in Indonesia, why can’t Malaysia achieve 30 per cent corn production,” Salahuddin said after presenting the Agropreneur Agrobank 2019 award here, today.
In another development, Salahuddin said the problem of distributing paddy seeds to farmers in areas like Perlis, Sabak Bernam and Rompin would be resolved this week.
Earlier, it was reported that thousands of farmers in several states, especially Sabak Bernam, Selangor, were worried about being unable to start the paddy planting season due to difficulties in obtaining legitimate paddy seeds from suppliers nationwide.
“This year alone we have distributed 72,000 tonnes,” he added. — Bernama
