PUTRAJAYA, April 8 — The country's physical stock of rice to date is 1,096,964 tonnes, including 290,000 tonnes of rice buffer stock, which is a stable quantity, able to cover the people’s needs for 5.48 months, said the Agriculture and Food Security Ministry (MAFS).
In a statement today, it provided guarantees that the rice supply, as Malaysia's staple food in the market, is sufficient to meet the people's needs.
"Furthermore, the amount of the country's physical stock rice compared to the total population is one of the highest and guaranteed in the region," said MAFS.
Currently, the distribution of local white rice (BPT) stock is actively being carried out, and the reduction in the price of imported white rice (BPI) of between RM2 to RM3 has also been implemented to meet the needs of consumers as finalised by the National Action Council on Cost of Living (NACCOL) last month.
It said the government has also implemented various initiatives to ensure an increase in local rice production, particularly through the 12 Rice Wave Initiatives and among those drafted is the expansion of the Large-Scale Smart Padi (Smart SBB) Ala Sekinchan programme, a five-season rice planting programme for two years, and initiatives to strengthen infrastructure padi field irrigation.
"MAFS also encourages the cultivation and consumption of other nutritious and healthy crops by the people apart from the national staple food, and this is our main emphasis in implementing the national food security agenda in line with the National Agro-Food Policy (DAN) 2021-2030," it said.
On January 16, Agriculture and Food Security Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Sabu said the Rice Wave Initiative was launched this year to raise the country's rice and rice industry to a more efficient and resilient level.
He added that MAFS had outlined 12 programmes to be implemented through the initiative as a 'change trigger' for the transformation of the country's rice and rice industry, among which is introducing a new policy for Certified Padi Seed incentive (IBPS).
— Bernama
