Call for hastening in agri research investment

PUTRAJAYA: Investment in agriculture research must be accelerated to identify the shortfalls of low productivity in the sector, as Malaysia’s agricultural productivity is less than half of high-income country averages, according to the latest figure by the World Bank Group.

World Bank senior agriculture economist Samuel Taffesse disclosed that the agriculture productivity, which is measured by value added per worker in the country, accounted for 45% of the average among high-income countries in 2017.