Page 22 - Berita Sunway - Issue 76

NET ZER O

Climate change, the Russian-Ukraine war and the COVID-19
pandemic are among the factors disrupting global food supply
CLOSER Malaysia, which imports up to 24% of its food to meet
chains and food security in recent years, resulting in food
shortages and price hikes of foods such as poultry, beef,
BRINGING THE FARM
vegetables and wheat products.

domestic demand, is not exempt from food security challenges.

ese include an overconcentration of import sources,
increasing risks of more extreme climate events, low
productivity in the agrifood industry, as well as slow adoption
in smart farming technology and techniques by local small
farmers, according to Bank Negara Malaysia’s ‘Closing the

Sector’ article published in its third quarter 2021 bulletin.
As the world’s population is expected to reach 9.8 billion people
TO HOME Food Gap: e Role of Structural Improvements in Agrofood
by 2050, the global demand for food would correspondingly
be at least 60% greater than today.

Closer to home, Malaysia’s food imports rose from RM51.4
billion in 2019 to RM55.5 billion in 2020 – indicating an
increased reliance on food imports.

As such, the central bank raised the critical need to address
domestic and external food security challenges to ensure food
is available, easily accessible and in stable supply for all.
Indoor vertical farming using agritech technology is one way to
improve Malaysia’s farm-to-table food supply chain, BNM
noted, as it maximises the country’s untapped potential in
raising agri-food production by utilising idle land and
abandoned buildings to grow a variety of food crops.
Indoor vertical
farming using
agritech technology
is one way to
improve Malaysia’s
farm-to-table food
supply chain

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