RM10 mln for agricultural pest management under 12th M'sia Plan
The government is allocating RM10 million under the 12th Malaysia Plan to strengthen integrated pest management (IPM) projects and boost the country's agriculture exports, said Agriculture and Food Industry Minister Ronald Kiandee.
He said while the government previously allocated RM2.5 million for IPM under the 11th Malaysia Plan, the RM10 million now is to ensure food safety for the people, as well as for export.
“IPM is an approach that should be adopted for all types of...
The government is allocating RM10 million under the 12th Malaysia Plan to strengthen integrated pest management (IPM) projects and boost the country's agriculture exports, said Agriculture and Food Industry Minister Ronald Kiandee.
He said while the government previously allocated RM2.5 million for IPM under the 11th Malaysia Plan, the RM10 million now is to ensure food safety for the people, as well as for export.
“IPM is an approach that should be adopted for all types of fruit and vegetable cultivation in the country, in line with our aspiration to make Malaysia a premium exporter of fruits and vegetables with myGAP certification, making the country a leading exporter which complies with food safety regulations," said the minister to reporters after attending an opening event of an IPM showroom in the Johor Agricultural Park today.
Kiandee (above) was on a two-day working visit to Johor, which began earlier today.
In his speech at the event, Kiandee said Malaysia received 800 notifications from Singapore, Japan, Germany, and Taiwan every year on pesticide residues on food items exported to the countries concerned.
This, he said, gave a negative picture of the safety and quality of Malaysian agricultural products to the importing countries and local markets.
As such, he said, implementation of the IPM system in the agricultural sector would continue to be promoted among local agricultural operators and manufacturers to enhance the quality and safety of local produce.
In a related development, he said the government spent more than RM5 million over the last five years for pest control activities nationwide.
He said three types of pests, namely palm beetles on coconut plants, 'bacterial panicle blight' for paddy and 'fall armyworm' on corn, had caused losses amounting to nearly RM10 million, not resulting in a loss of crops, but also a loss of trade.
- Bernama
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