KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 14 — Malaysia has expressed its intention to continue regional cooperation and smart partnerships on the climate change agenda among policymakers, scientists, private sector and agro community of the D-8 countries.

Agriculture and Food Industries Minister Datuk Seri Ronald Kiandee said Malaysia also shared on specific strategies taken to support the climate change agenda including encouraging the use of technology and automation in smart farming approaches and creating a conducive ecosystem for industry.

"Strengthen the collection of data related to the country’s food security so that it can be accessed and monitored, including the effects of climate change on the agriculture sector.

"... as well as intensifying research, development, commercialisation and innovation on other potential alternatives to adapt to climate change,” he said in a post on his Facebook page today.

The matter was raised by Ronald who led the Malaysian delegation at the 7th D-8 Ministerial Meeting on Agriculture and Food Security which was held virtually yesterday.

In addressing the main challenges in the agriculture sector, Ronald also emphasised the efforts taken by the government, including developing the National Agrofood Policy 2021-2030 (NAP 2.0) and the National Food Security Policy Action Plan 2021-2025.

At the meeting chaired by the Minister of Agriculture of Bangladesh, Ronald also said that Dhaka Initiatives were finalised which among others to develop the direction of cooperation and sharing of agricultural technology towards Climate Smart Agriculture.

"The meeting also expects support from the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) as well as other strategic partners in assisting D-8 member countries,” he said.

 D-8 is an organisation for development cooperation that groups Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan and Turkey. — Bernama