Sustainable development for paddy industry in Malaysia

Two of Malaysian major policy challenges are to feed its increasing population and to increase the income of farmers in order to eradicate poverty. This is in addition to the growing population, urbanization and higher living standards and the associated increase in demand for land exert great pressure on food production (Roetter and Van Keulen, 2007). These challenges are faced against the background of decreasing availability of natural resources for agriculture such as water and arable land, and declining labour availability, as a result of rapidly increasing competition from other sectors. Moreover, the policies aimed at conservation of environmentally vulnerable areas also decrease the availability of farmland resources. As a result of the Green Revolution, Malaysia has increased the level of self-sufficiency in rice, but the associated use of fertilizers and biocides causes increasing public concern. The high inputs of fertilizer and biocides increase production costs, and cause serious environmental, occupational and public health problems, which all bear significant social costs. Loss of N and P from farmland is one of the major causes of eutrophication of rivers and pollution of groundwater. Another possible consequence of intensive use of biocides is that the pest organisms develop resistance to pesticides, reducing their efficiency in protecting crops. To stimulate paddy production, increase farmers' income and alleviate the adverse effects of agrochemicals on the environment and human health, the Malaysia government has implemented various policy measures in recent years. Priority has been given to agricultural research and price support to increase yields and mitigate the adverse effects on the environment and human health caused by the use of agrochemicals.Therefore, the effectiveness needs to be assessed of different crop and livestock production technologies in attaining rural development goals, i.e. increasing paddy production, increasing farmers' income and reducing negative environmental impact. The recent price increase in rice, which was mainly due to limited supply and energy crisis, were a reason for great concern for the Malaysian government. As self-sufficiency in rice is a long-term national policy objective of Malaysia, favourable policies, i.e. a tax reduction, direct subsidy on seed, subsidy on purchase and a minimum farm gate price for rice, were implemented in 2006 (DOA, 2007). Another, equally important goal is to increase farmers' income. In addition to rice self-sufficiency, Malaysian policy also pays attention to protection of the environment through research on and extension of input-saving technologies such as improved nutrient management and integrated pest management. Therefore, the sustainable agriculture involved production methods of paddy that are healthy, do not harm the environment, respect workers, provide fair wages to farmers, and support farming communities. Sustainable agricultural practices can both feed people and protect the environment include the land that use to plant the paddy, source of water and other ecosystems that harbour biological divers, sustainable agriculture can be measured also in two main concepts that include economic and healthy environment. However, in order to practice this sustainable agriculture in paddy production, there are some challenges that must be faced such as limitation of land, low yield, pest and disease, sustainable variety of paddy, encourage the corporate sector to invest in sustainable agriculture, high cost of production and application of mechanization, automation and technology and low involvement of young generation in this sector. To achieve sustainability, the constraints that threaten it must be alleviated, and major efforts must be made in increasing productivity to meet immediate demands of growing global population. 10Matrix Tone Paddy Production project is one of the projects that has been established by the government in order to promote sustainable paddy production in Malaysia.