KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 17 — The Agriculture and Food Security Ministry (KPKM) will plan new programmes and improve existing initiatives under the ministry to boost the country’s crop yields, especially rice.

Its minister, Datuk Seri Mohamad Sabu said it would include using the latest technology and exploring new rice planting areas, and will be implemented with allocations under the Budget 2024 tabled by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim last Friday.

"We can plan new programmes and improve existing ones to be more efficient and better, especially in terms of products cultivated in same amount of space. We want to increase yields with new technology.

"Opinions from university lecturers, test content and soil suitability, all this needs to be done to boost yields using the same amount of land, as well as exploring new areas to plan crops like rice and vegetables,” he said on Bernama TV’s Ruang Bicara programme entitled "Food Security to be Strengthened” tonight.

His ministry will receive RM6.17 billion in allocations, an increase of 14.4 per cent compared to RM5.39 billion the previous year.

On the floating of chicken and egg prices in the market, Mohamad said his ministry along with several others were currently discussing the best methods of implementation.

"In general, (the price) of eggs and chicken will stabilise if managed quickly...when it’s stable then we’ll discuss how to float it...the discussion this week is to find the best solution and reduce the burdens of any concerned parties, that’s our aim,” he said.

The prime minister had earlier said during the ministers’ question and answer session at the Dewan Rakyat that the government’s move to float the price of eggs and chickens was to ensure that the subsidies benefitted those who deserved them, not the rich and foreign workers.

The government had spent RM3.7 billion in total for subsidies for chickens and eggs since 2022, he added. — Bernama