CHAPTER 2

• Components of agriculture include crop farming, animal husbandry, horticulture, and floriculture.
• Crop farming is the branch of agriculture concerned with plants that are cultivated in a large amount for food, including rice, wheat, oats, millets, fruits, vegetables, and others.
• Animal husbandry is the branch of agriculture concerned with animals that are raised for meat, fiber, milk, eggs, or other products.
• Horticulture is the art and science of growing and handling fruits, nuts, vegetables, herbs, flowers, foliage plants, woody ornamentals, and turf.
• Floriculture is a discipline of horticulture that includes the cultivation of flowering and ornamental plants.
• Vertical farming is a branch of agriculture concerned with growing crops in vertically stacked layers.
• Controlled-environment agriculture aims to optimize plant growth, and soilless farming techniques such as hydroponic and aquaponics are incorporated.
• Land degradation refers to the deterioration of the quality and productivity of land caused by human activities and environmental factors.
• Deforestation due to the expansion of the palm oil industry, logging, and urban development contributes to land degradation.
• The government provides sector-based incentives to encourage the private sector to invest in the agriculture and agro-based industry.
• The National Agro-Food Policy is expected to create more than 109,000 job opportunities by year 2020.
• The programs implemented under the National Agro-Food Policy include increasing food production through optimization and sustainable land development, developing and upgrading agriculture infrastructure, increasing the quality and safety of food by expanding the compliance standard, strengthening human capital and ensuring sufficient skill labor force in the agriculture sector, and using modern technology.
• The National Agro-Food Policy has been identified as a National Key Result Area where this sector is targeted to increase the Gross National Income by RM28.9 billion to reach RM49.1 billion by 2020.
• The National Agro-Food Policy (2011 - 2020)
• Post-independence Period (1957 – 2020)
• The National Agro-Food Policy aims to address challenges in domestic and global markets to ensure sustainable production for food security and safety.
• Soil erosion reduces the fertility of the land but also leads to sedimentation in rivers and lakes, affecting water quality and aquatic ecosystems.
• Urbanization, particularly rapid urbanization and the expansion of infrastructure development, can contribute to land degradation by displacing natural landscapes, compacting soil, and altering natural drainage systems.
• Malaysia is one of the world's largest producers of palm oil, which contributes significantly to the country's economy but has been criticized for its environmental impact, including deforestation, habitat loss, and greenhouse gas emissions.
• Water scarcity is a growing concern in Malaysia, affecting agricultural activities.
• Post-independence Period (1957 – 2020) saw the implementation of The Malaya Economic Plan (1957 – 1983), which focused on agricultural development.
• The First National Agriculture Policy (1984 – 1991) was established to address the issue of rural poverty and imbalance of income between the commercial and traditional farmers.
• The First Malaya Plan (1955 – 1970) emphasized on industrial crops for export markets.
• The policy aimed to enhance food security, increase productivity and competitiveness of the sector, deepen linkages with other sectors, create new sources of growth within the sector, and introduce commodities and clusters.
• The Second National Agriculture Policy (1992 – 2010) emphasized on productivity, efficiency of agro-food production to enable this sector to contribute to the economic growth.
• The policies on agriculture development were published during the First Malaya Plan (1956 – 1960).
• The objectives of the Third National Agriculture Policy were to address the challenges faced by the agriculture sector such as lack of arable land, shortage of labor, efficient of resources.
• The commodities and clusters introduced under the Third National Agriculture Policy were: food products group ( paddy, livestock, fisheries, fruits, vegetables), forestry and wood-based products, new products and future industry, floriculture products and aquarium fish, sago, roselle, equine and exotic animals, agro-tourism, and others.
• The Second Malaya Plan (1961 -1965) focused on industrial crops for export markets.
• The Third National Agriculture Policy (1998 – 2010) was a revised version of the NAP2 and was formulated after the Asian Financial Crisis 1997- 1998.
• During the post-independence period, agriculture was led by rubber and palm oil, which were the main contributors to Malaysia’s economy.
• The First National Agriculture Policy (1984 – 1991) (NAP1) focused on increasing the income of farmers to improve their standard of living.
• Ensuring food security for the growing population is a challenge as Malaysia's food imports are high, making it susceptible to global supply chain disruptions and price fluctuations.
• Malaysia has struggled to achieve self-sufficiency in rice production and relies on rice imports to meet its domestic demand, making it vulnerable to fluctuations in global rice prices.
• An official document formulated by the government as a strategic direction of the agriculture sector in Malaysia.
• The Malaya Economic Plan (1957 – 1983) provided employment and encouraged foreign direct investment in the plantation sector.
• The pre-independence period of agriculture policy (1948 – 1957) emphasized plantation crops such as rubber, oil palm, and cocoa.
• The post-independence period of agriculture policy (1957 – 2020) addressed the poverty issues among farmers and focused on enhancing the income of farmers to reduce poverty in the agriculture sector.
• The Third National Agriculture Policy (1998 – 2010) (NAP3) focused on increasing the income of farmers and improving their quality of life.
• The National Agro-Food Policy (2011 – 2020) aims to ensure food security for the growing population.