KUALA LUMPUR: The Agro Madani Sales organised nationwide as of Oct 29 this year recorded sales of more than RM60mil and benefitted more than seven million households.
The Agriculture and Food Security Ministry, in a statement on Wednesday (Nov 8), said the programme, carried out through the relevant departments and agencies, such as the Federal Agricultural Marketing Board (Fama), Farmers' Organisation Authority (FOA) and the Malaysian Fisheries Development Board (LKIM), drew the participation of 54,300 entrepreneurs, exceeding the target of 46,000 entrepreneurs.
"The Agro Madani sales are seen as one of the ministry's 'quick win' programmes in helping producers market their products directly to consumers, which directly helps to reduce the people's living costs, especially in food components through prices of 10 to 30 per cent lower than the market prices for selected items,” read the statement.
The ministry, it said, also managed to organise 71 per cent of the Agro Madani Sales programme targeted for this year, by holding it at 3,569 locations across the country, comprising 401 government complexes, 926 high-density housing areas and 2,242 Fama retail outlets.
Among the special attractions at the Agro Madani Sale is the sale of selected fresh agricultural products such as vegetables, fruits, chicken, eggs, fish, sugar, and cooking oil as well as the Madani Combo promotion.
"At the Agro Madani Sales, there is also the Happy Hour sale; Customer Service Counter, Entrepreneur Advisory and Guidance Services and Agricultural Icons," it said.
Apart from that, it said, the ministry also focused on the issues and challenges of food security, supply sufficiency and the increase in living costs.
"Therefore, to deal with this issue, several initiatives have and are being implemented by the ministry, among them fresh agro-food marketing services covering the purchase of agricultural produce from farmers, or the buy-back programme known as the i-Bela, and the Agro Madani Sales programme, which is the latest, to offer affordable prices to consumers," it said.
It said the ministry is always committed to ensuring that the food supply for the people's needs is always sufficient and guaranteed through the 2021-2030 National Agro-Food Policy and the 2021-2025 National Food Security Policy Action Plan.
"Various initiatives and programmes have and are being implemented to increase the capacity of local food production to reduce the country’s dependence on food imports and at the same time guarantee the country's food security," according to the statement.
Meanwhile, in another statement, the ministry said that the National Farmers, Breeders and Fishermen's Day (HPPNK) 2023 will be celebrated from Nov 10 to 12 at Dataran Bulatan Sultan Azlan Shah in Ipoh, Perak.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim is scheduled to open the event, themed "Food Security for the Future" at 1.30pm this Saturday (Nov 11).
Various programmes have been outlined to enliven the HPPNK 2023 celebration, such as the Mega Agro Madani Sale.
The ministry is targeting 350,000 visitors to attend the HPPNK 2023 celebration. - Bernama
