Food security towards self sufficiency of rice production in Malaysia

The objectives of the study were to determine the status of rice production in Malaysia, constraints and recommendations in terms of policy, and implementation towards food security intervention program. The research methodology consisted of gathering and upgrading information concerning rice production from relevant agencies and in-depth case studies. The results revealed that food security and self sufficiency were ultimate goals of government policy in promoting agriculture as a third engine of economic growth. The national average yield of rice in Malaysia is 3.55 t/ha while that of other Asian countries is 4.30 t/ha. From the previous decades until the current time, Malaysia has been importing rice because not only is the supply insufficient, but also the rice industry in Malaysia does not have a comparative advantage due to several factors, in particular uneconomic land size, water shortage, limited labor force and high production cost. Nevertheless, the government has fully supported the rice industry with massive fiscal outlays to offset these constraints. However, rice production continues to be chronically inefficient. A limited labor force has been a serious problem in rice production in the last two decades. Only 3.3%, accounting for 12,495 of young farmers aged 15 and 29 were still in the farms. Between 2003 and 2007, the total number of paddy cultivators was dropped 23% from 286,600 to 206,400. The increasing cost of agricultural inputs, particularly fertilizers and pesticides as a result of increased fuel prices had an impact on production and income of farmers. In order to promote self sufficiency intervention program on rice productivity, modernization of farming technology has been disseminated since early 1970's, with the double cropping rice technology fully implemented in 1988 especially in eight granaries areas. In terms of the current food security policy, the Malaysian government has identified three main strategies with a budget of more than USD 800 million for the period of 2008-2010, with the goal to increase SSL to 86% in 2010. Increased rice production through improvement and optimization of farm management including effective fertilization and input application, land leveling, pest control, and farm mechanization have been promoted nationally. There is also a policy to encourage private sector investment in rice cultivation through commercialization and entrepreneurial approaches.