Zahari, seen here releasing young freshwater fish at Sungai Kampung Kuala Paya, expects more youth to be involved in agriculture.
JOHOR’S agriculture sector is expected to see stronger growth in years to come, which makes the state poised to achieve its aspiration of becoming a national and regional food basket.
State agriculture, agro-based industry and rural committee chairman Datuk Zahari Sarip said based on data from Agriculture and Food Security Ministry, Johor’s economic performance experienced encouraging growth in 2023 with an increase rate of 4.1% in its gross domestic product (GDP), which was equivalent to RM148.2bil.
“The agricultural sector is the third highest contributor of its GDP with 11.6% or RM17.2bil, and this elevates Johor as the largest contributor to the agricultural sector in Malaysia.
“The crop subsector was the largest contributor in Johor’s agricultural sector, with a contribution of 67.8%, followed by the livestock subsector (25.36%) and the fisheries subsector (6.59%),” he added.
Zahari said there were currently 111,359 agriculture players actively involved in the state’s growing agriculture sector.
“From the figure, about 93,000 of them are agro-food plant entrepreneurs, 11,225 fishermen, 4,589 ruminant farmers, 1,857 agro-based industry entrepreneurs and 688 aquaculture farmers spread throughout the state,” he added.
He said youth involvement in the agriculture sector was also showing encouraging signs for the future.
“We are expecting the number of youth involved in the agriculture sector to see an increase.
“By getting more youths involved in becoming agricultural players, the application and usage of latest agricultural technology will also see an increase, which in turn will see the sector grow, especially in terms of production,” he said.
Zahari said the state government was planning to introduce a strategic programme to establish food security zones in Segamat.
The Buloh Kasap assemblyman said the paperwork on the programme was still being finalised to formally designate the areas as food security zones.
“These zones will be in areas not affected by floods, ensuring year-round food production.
“The government has identified 809ha to 1,214ha of land in Segamat for this purpose.
“Plans are underway to collaborate with both domestic and international entrepreneurs to undertake a variety of agricultural activities, including poultry farming, vegetable and pineapple cultivation as well as herb farming,” he said.
Zahari said a focus group discussion for the proposed food security zones in Segamat, which he chaired, was also held recently.
“Various economic activities related to crops and livestock have been proposed for development,” he added. — By MOHD FARHAAN SHAH
