In sourcing red rice as an ingredient for baby food, Nestle (Malaysia) Bhd. will not only buy red rice from farmers in Kuching, but also actively partner with MARDI to commercialise research on the planting of the staple crop. Under the contract manufacturing, it is anticipated that planted areas will increase from 80 ha to 300 ha to ensure an adequate supply for their infant formula. This is an important step for agriculture and MARDI in commercializing and sharing their knowhow with Nestle.

In other news, the government will roll out RM6 million worth of aquaculture projects this year in a push to reduce our dependency on imported foods. The project, spanning over 25,000 ha of land area, will soon be launched by the government and MIMB Investment Bank Bhd and opened to interested private sectors to submit proposals to undertake the projects. The project, anticipated to produce seaweed, prawn, mollusks and fish doubling national production to 32,000 tonnes a year, will trim expensive food imports totaling to RM17 billion last year, compared to RM14 billion in national food imports.

Oil palm has also been generating much buzz, as soaring oil prices are driving a push for palm-oil based biodiesel. As Malaysia’s crude palm oil production dipped for the first time in eight years, Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Datuk Peter Chin voices his worry on oil palm productivity, while stressing the need for improving fruit yields. To stimulate such growth, state-owned Bank Pertanian is offering low-interest loans for smallholders to replant old oil palm trees with high-yield varieties. The scheme is one of various moves by the government to stimulate better oil palm production, another example would be rebates on electricity consumption for oil palm companies operating clonal labs.