Food Technology – Agriculture Food Processing

Agriculture

There are opportunities for large-scale and high impact agricultural projects to assist Malaysia to meet self-sufficiency for food production as well as reduce the country’s dependency on imported food over time. Under the National Agrofood Policy 2021 – 2030, the focus is on the development and upscaling of key agricultural produce such as rice, dairy, livestock, fruits, and vegetables.

The Government, through the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industries (MAFI), encourages the innovation and adoption of advanced technology in operations, leading  to increased profitability as well as more efficient, sustainable, and resilient agricultural production processes.

By modernising the agro-food industry through the use of automation and technology-driven concepts such as ‘smart farming’ or ‘precision agriculture’, investors can help contribute to the sustainability of Malaysia’s food ecosystem, in line with SDG 2 – Zero Hunger, which aims to end all forms of hunger and malnutrition by 2030, and make sure all people, especially children, would have sufficient nutritious food. The Government welcomes investments that involve promoting sustainable agriculture and helping to support small-scale farmers by ensuring their equal access to land, technology, and markets.

The Government is encouraging industry players to innovate and adopt more advanced technologies in their operations. Aside from boosting agricultural productivity, increasing self-sufficiency, and reducing their dependency on imported agricultural products, these advanced technologies would also allow businesses to increase profitability, as well as lead to more efficient, safer and more environmental-friendly production processes.

The food processing sub-sector plays an important role as Malaysia moves steadily towards building a more diversified economy, with the next wave of business and investment opportunities being in high-value food product manufacturing. To stay competitive, food manufacturers are constantly seeking to find faster and more efficient ways to meet consumer demands, moving towards more automated, flexible, and efficient ways of doing business.

There was an increased emphasis on the animal feed segment of the global food industry. In 2021, there were three projects approved in this sub-sector, including a notable foreign aquaculture feed project worth RM3 billion from China and two animal feed projects worth RM28.2 million, one of which was from Singapore. A total of 138 employment opportunities resulted from these three projects.