Kuala Lumpur (VNA) - Malaysia is facing an urgent need to transform its traditional agriculture and food production sectors by adopting modern and smart technologies such as automation, mechanisation, and biotechnology to improve productivity and boost competitiveness, a senior official has said.
Speaking at the opening of the National Agricultural and Food Engineering Conference (NAFEC) 2025 on May 6, Malaysia’s Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Food Security Datuk Arthur Joseph Kurup emphasised that this transformation is necessary due to the significant gap between the country’s agrofood imports and exports.
Currently, the agricultural sector plays an important role in Malaysia’s socio-economic development, achieving a growth rate of 4.19% and contributing 11.52% to the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2024. However, the sector still records a high trade deficit of 39.4 billion RM (9.3 billion USD).
Arthur said that the government remains committed to strengthening national food security through strategic policies such as the national food security action plan for 2021–2025 and key initiatives under the 12th Malaysia Plan. This direction will be continued under the 13th Malaysia Plan, with an emphasis on high-value and high-growth agricultural sectors, aligned with the MADANI economic agenda.
Malaysia’s aquaculture sector has already achieved a self-sufficiency level of up to 90% in 2024, thanks to support from various initiatives such as the Integrated Aquaculture Development Programme, the adoption of modern farming systems like recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS), the use of the Internet of Things (IoT), and high-quality breeding stock.
Themed "Agro Technology as a Driver of National Food Production", the NAFEC 2025 brought together more than 180 industry stakeholders, researchers, and policymakers to discuss the future direction of technology and innovation to ensure food security.
The conference also served as a strategic platform to strengthen cooperation between the public and private sectors and higher education institutions in advancing agricultural and food engineering./.
