KUALA LUMPUR, June 9 — The 2021-2025 National Food Security Policy Action Plan (DSMN) which was approved at the Cabinet Committee Meeting on National Food Security Policy yesterday, can ensure Malaysia’s preparedness in facing a food security crisis.

The Agriculture and Food Industries Ministry, in a statement today, said the plan focused on all four dimensions of food security in line with the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), namely, availability, access, consumption as well as stability and sustainability.

The implementation of the action plan through 15 strategies and 96 initiatives is expected to contribute towards the availability of safe food at affordable prices, increased domestic food production, reduced dependence on food import and foreign manpower use.

It explained that the plan encompassed five core strategies, namely, the expansion in the use of technology; empowering of research and studies; empowerment of food security data; expansion of strategic collaboration; as well as strengthening the governance of departments and agencies.

Meanwhile, the meeting, which was chaired by Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin via a video conference, also agreed in principle on the control measure and enforcement on the import and transit activities of animal products.

"The meeting also agreed on a new mechanism to tackle the issue of lack of supply and to ensure the price of onions in Malaysia would become more stable,” it said.

In addition, a briefing paper on the status of the implementation of the Large Scale Smart Padi Field Project (Smart SBB) and Malaysia’s performance in the 2020 Global Food Security Index (GFSI) was also tabled during the meeting.

"Overall, the national food security performance is in a good position. The initiatives outlined in the DSMN Action Plan also took into account analyses on the Malaysian Food Security based on the GFSI,’’ it said.

The statement also announced that the ministry, through the 12th Malaysia Plan, among others, would emphasise the initiative to boost productivity and strengthen the food value network.

"The government will continue the effort to ensure the national food supply stays assured in whatever situation towards boosting health and well-being in the lives of the people especially when the nation is in the midst of battling the Covid-19 pandemic,” it said. — Bernama