Malaysia eyes farming as economic crisis rolls on

Malaysia eyes farming as economic crisis rolls on

By Reme Ahmad

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters): As Asia's economic crisis rolls on,
the country which has launched satellites and aims to be home to
state-of-the-art multimedia technology is advising its citizens
to return to the soil.

Malaysia is looking to lease out land for commercial vegetable
farming, wants to boost paddy cultivation and will be reviving
300 abandoned fish ponds.

Green is suddenly in, and Malaysians are being asked to farm
food locally to munch their way out of the country's economic
troubles.

Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim sprouted the idea by
telling Malaysians they should start vegetable patches at home.

The move would reduce Malaysia's food import bill, estimated
at 10 billion ringgit (US$3.85 billion) this year.

"We should all plant vegetables at home. This will help reduce
expenditure," Anwar said recently.

"I would like to inform you that I have already started
growing vegetables the hydroponic way."

Between 1990 and 1995, vegetables made up 13 percent of total
food import costs, dairy products 12 percent and fish eight
percent, according to a recent research paper by two agricultural
academics.

Although plants thrive in Malaysia's lush, tropical climate,
the country imports 40 percent of its vegetables, according to
the New Straits Times, from the staple paddy to the lowly onion.

The call by Anwar came amid news that the price of condensed
milk, sugar and flour -- mostly made from imported items -- will
be raised from Feb. 1 due to the weak local currency.

The ringgit has fallen by some 30 percent against the U.S.
dollar since a regional economic crisis erupted in July, making
imports considerably more expensive.

One of Asia's "Tiger" economies has suddenly realized it is
vulnerable and must grow more of its own food.

Responding quickly to Anwar's signal, officials are focusing
on converting abandoned land and ponds into fruitful hives of
activity.

The Agriculture Ministry said it was considering allowing the
leasing of some of its land to those interested in farming
vegetables on a commercial scale.

In central Negeri Sembilan state, a state official said 300
idle ponds would be redeveloped into fish farms.

Green Book

Anwar recently announced that the government had increased the
national food fund by 100 million ringgit ($26 million) to 700
million ringgit to boost local food production.

The Agriculture Ministry is selling eight types of seeds,
including chilies, spinach and cucumbers, in small packets to
encourage citizens to begin home vegetable gardening. The packets
cost four ringgit ($1.03) apiece.

This is not the first time the government has called on the
people to return to tilling the soil.

Faced with economic difficulties in the 1970s, Malaysia
launched the Green Book plan by calling for the mass planting of
vegetables. It even distributed pamphlets on how to plant
vegetables.

Malaysia still grows a lot of trees whose products are widely
exported, especially palm oil, rubber and timber. But home-grown
foods, including paddy and vegetables, are not enough to meet
local demand.

A decade of strong uninterrupted growth led many Malaysian
land owners to convert their holdings into property projects.
Others abandoned back-breaking farm work for higher-paying jobs
in cities.

"Because of labor shortage, good agricultural land is lying
idle. Between 800,000 and one million hectares of land is not
fully utilized," agricultural expert Abdul Aziz Abdul Rahman told
the New Sunday Times recently.

About two million foreign workers now do jobs long abandoned
by Malaysians in the plantation and construction sectors and
sanitation services.

Local agriculture produce withered as Malaysians made their
own cars, launched two satellites, raised the world's tallest
buildings and sought investments from world-class multimedia
companies.

Malaysia's "Vision 2020" policy aims to turn the country into
an industrialized nation. It has moved away from its agricultural
past and no longer wants to be a cheap production center for
global electronic products.

Last year the agriculture, livestock, forestry and fishing
sector grew only 2.2 percent while gross domestic product surged
9.7 percent.

The star sectors last year were construction and
manufacturing. Construction expanded by 14.2 percent and
manufacturing by 12.2 percent.

But the slumping ringgit and falling stock prices have brought
Malaysians down to earth.

"Obviously plans have to be changed when you have problems
like this. You have to go back to self-sufficiency," said Kevin
Chew, economist at Caspian Securities.

But after a decade of abandoning farm work for air-conditioned
offices and factories, it may be difficult to convince Malaysians
that working under the sun is more lucrative.

Returning to the soil does not necessarily mean Malaysia is
turning back the clock, some observers say.

"It would be the ultimate triumph for Malaysia to march
proudly into the ranks of developed nations, and have the onions
to prove it as well," Abdul Razak Ahmad wrote in the New Straits
Times.