Sabah Food Security Failing To Prepare Is Preparing To Fail

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THE greatest danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reached it. - Michelangelo
To remain content and be idle is also a danger, and we note this same contentment from Sabah’s Agriculture and Food Industry Minister Datuk Junz Wong recently when he downplayed issues with food supplies, particularly rice
Yes, Padiberas Nasional Bhd (Bernas) has assured Sabah it has a four-month stockpile. But what is beyond this four-month horizon
The Covid-19 pandemic has upended business with the Malaysian Institute for Economic Research forecasting 2.4 million job losses this year
And topping that with widespread "hoarding" by consumers and enhanced stockpiling by countries to ride out this pandemic, it has driven up grain prices and pushed the food security agenda. It also created market pandemonium for the most basic of essential items, food, among many, including Sabahans
Sabah is highly reliant on food imports, especially rice, where imports in 2017 made up 74% of its total supply, while vegetable imports made up 47%, according to data from the Sabah Agricultural Blueprint 2018
The pandemic has unfortunately thrown a spanner into the import economy with several Asean nations mulling a ban on rice exports
On March 25, the world’s third-largest rice exporter, Vietnam, did just that
That set tongues waggling among Sabahans, asking whether food security could morph into a major crisis in the months ahead. Although blessed with abundant fertile arable land, much remains unused
In 2017, out of 322,600 hectares suitable for padi cultivation, only about 10% or 31,274 hectares were farmed
This is especially worrying for a state that in 2016 had a median household income of RM4,110, below the RM5,228 national average and a Gini coefficient of 0.402 compared to the national 0.399A higher Gini coefficient indicates more inequality. It is therefore heart-breaking that while many Sabahans earn un-liveable wages, they endure higher prices through added logistics costs and levies slapped on imported foodstuff
There are many underlying economic reasons for Sabah’s over-reliance on rice imports
Firstly, the state’s poor infrastructure renders the logistics of processing, storage and distribution extremely inefficient, with long logistics delays contributing to loss of quality and attrition from weather and pests, before it reaches the market
Secondly, underdevelopment of mechanisation adds labour intensiveness into the agricultural output
The Sabah rice farmer produces an average yield of 3.39 tonnes per hectare, far below Vietnam’s 5.4 tonnes per hectare
Thirdly, the open market economy allowed consumers to buy cheaper imported rice
As Albert Einstein once said, in the midst of every crisis, lies great opportunity
Sabah should seize this moment to restrategise making our homeland as a rice bowl for the country
We must reactivate the thousands of hectares of idle padi land while diversifying to food crops outside of commodities such as oil palm
Sabah can be a food basket and producer of high end and exotic food and fruits with increase in yields, productivity and diversity by experimenting with introduction of short and longer term crops
We must embrace smart partnerships and sharing of technologies and innovations in new farming techniques to productively farm our vast area of coastal lands
The government must set the right agriculture policy tone to get produce from farm to the table, encompassing production, storage, logistics, quality control, marketing, branding and product development
It should kill two birds with one stone and promote bustling farmers' markets in cities and towns, like the famed Dutch Flower Market in Amsterdam and Japan’s Tsukiji fish market, to serve as tourist destinations
In agriculture, Sabah offers great promise and exciting potential but lacks in political will to seize the moment
We stand reminded by this famous quote,"Be not afraid of growing slowly, be only afraid of standing still"
Dr Pamela Yong is the deputy chairman of the Institute of Strategic Analysis and Policy Research - Star

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