FOOD POLICIES ENSURE FOOD SECURITY

By Sakina Mohamed

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 28 (Bernama) -- Being self-sufficient is imperative in an
era of climate changes. Countries scramble to ensure food security for their
population by any means necessary. This can mean finding ways to grow food in
their own backyards, even if it means resorting to the use of expensive
technology.

One can assume that countries thriving on agriculture would not have much of
a problem. But the same cannot be said for Malaysia, which has been importing
more food products than it exports.

Chief executive officer of the Malaysian Agrifood Corporation Berhad (MAFC)
Azizi Meor Ngah says food security needs to be examined from the standpoint of
trade.

"I think the government should look at agriculture in a more commercial way
with a higher balance of trade," says Azizi who was also the chairman of the
Federal Agriculture Marketing Authority (Fama) for four years.

However, growing food for trade is not as simple as it sounds. There are
just so many aspects to it that need to be looked into.

GROWING DOES NOT MEAN SELLING

Balance of trade can be seen as a strategy to ensure better food security,
but growing more crops is not a sure-fire way to offset trade deficit, says
Azizi.

"We must first ask ourselves the question, what is it that we can grow that
the world wants, so that we can export it?"

He says there is no proper brand of agriculture produce from Malaysia that
is developed for export, such as New Zealand which are known for their kiwis and
Philippine for their bananas.

Although Malaysia is known for its palm oil, he says, Malaysia can only rely
on its oil palm exports for so long, as nutrients in land do need to be
replenished. A back-up plan is always wise.

The MAFC, an accredited integrated food supply chain management company in
Malaysia, has been also accredited to ensure sustainable agriculture practices
at every level of the food supply chain. The company partners with government
agencies and industry players to supply safe and top quality fresh produce for
healthier living.

MAFC has been growing vegetables and fruits under the concept of Good
Agricultural Practices (GAP) which includes proper usage of farming methods,
appropriate planting and harvesting methods and minimal usage of non-organic
fertilisers and pesticides.

Its produce are transported through MAFC's Cold Chain Network, which means
they are transported from the farm to the supermarket shelves in cold trucks at
the right temperature to maintain freshness and shelf life. It is marketed under
the brand "Lushious" and distributed to several local hypermarkets.

Azizi says one of MAFC's biggest role is to go for the export markets, but
doing so is easier said than done.

Before any food products can be exported overseas, it has to obtain several
certifications that attest not only to its quality, but its safety as well.

FOOD SAFETY ISSUES

"Food safety issues are always the hardest as countries are very stringent
about it," says Azizi.

"It's understandable, as everybody wants to protect their country and
industry. When you export a food product, you are also exporting potential
diseases."

However, getting certifications for Malaysian products for safety can be a
costly process for small producers, as many of the internationally-recognised
certification programmes such as Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP)
require rigorous testing and rigid compliance to its standards.

This has also caused much reluctance among industry players to get their
products or farms certified.

If they choose to do so, the cost would ultimately have to be passed on to
retailers and consumers, so many local buyers and retailers were willing to
overlook food safety for cheaper goods, he said.

"They prefer to source cheaply," Azizi laments." They refuse my products
when it is offered to them as they claim it to be too expensive. But what they
must understand is that it comes with an assurance of food safety."

The situation has also been aggravated with consumers who know little about
the importance of food safety and the need to demand for it.

He says the Food Act in the United Kingdom puts in on the retailers to
shoulder the responsibility of ensuring food safety.

"If, for example, somebody dies from consuming something bought at a
hypermarket, the family can sue the hypermarket over it because there is
provision in the Food Act for them to do so."

Countries in the European Union also employ a similar concept, where in the
bid to ensure food safety, major retailers choose a farm to "adopt" for their
produce supply.

"They will place an expert on food safety on the farms to advise farmers
how to plant, which pesticides to use, and everything comes with a buy back
scheme, so farmers go through the whole process with peace of mind.

"It is a different case over here. Even if I offer them products with
certified food safety, they refuse it on the grounds that it's costlier. Costs
seem to take precedence over safety," he says.

GO ABROAD FOR LOCAL BENEFIT

Sometimes, importing can be a necessity rather than a choice. For example, a
country with high demand for a food that is not suitable for growing or breeding
locally, such as meat, would have no choice but to import to ensure food
security.

"When this happens," says Azizi, "the government should go in big way to
encourage companies to buy a big farm or ranch in Australia and New Zealand,
where the conditions are more suitable to breed livestock and produce for the
Malaysian market," he suggested.

The practice has been employed in a number of countries around the world
such as Brunei and those in the Arab region, where premium meat and dairy
products are sourced from their own farms overseas and produced exclusively for
local consumption.

It is a good practice in food security, Azizi says.

Moreover, he says, it could also play a role in balancing trade.

He says middle-income economies like China and India has around 900 million
middle income earners in total.

"These are my target customers. If I were breeding livestock overseas, I
would look at exporting to these countries where purchasing power is on the
rise.

"As incomes increase, so do diet trends. They now go for more meat, which
was previously unaffordable. If we go into the livestock industry in a big way
by owning a farm in Australia or New Zealand, we could also export to India and
China when the demand for it starts rising."

When asked if it is a good idea to breed livestock locally, he says the
tricky part was growing good crop feed, which requires nutrient-rich flat lands.

"Most of the good lands we have have gone towards developing housing
projects or planting oil palm. Unless the government changes its policy towards
such projects and relocate oil palm plantation overseas, it is not feasible to
grow crops for livestock in Malaysia," he says.

Azizi says Malaysia needs to quickly take the reins on the macro planning of
the country's food policy. Further procrastination will automatically make
Malaysia less competitive and place the country in a vulnerable position.

"Point in case, China has made a very positive decision in agriculture and
now they are successfully exporting many of their produce despite their big
popu lation and growth.

"It's something we need to take stock of immediately," he says.

Azizi will be moderating a session at the two-day International Conference
and Exhibition on Climate Change, Agriculture and Related Trade Standards, which
takes place on Nov 1 at a hotel here.

The two-day conference is co-organised by UNCTAD and ENSEARCH, one of
Malaysia's largest environmental NGOs. For more information, please go to
www.ensearch.com
-- BERNAMA