Agriculture Ministry collaborates with agencies in Beras Ganu programme

PUTRAJAYA: The Agriculture and Food Security Ministry through a collaboration with the Agriculture Department and several other agencies is involved in the Beras Ganu brand programme which has received the Malaysia Good Agricultural Practice certification (myGAP).

The agencies involved are the Northern Terengganu Integrated Agricultural Development Area (Iada Ketara), Kawalselia Padi dan Beras (KPB) and the Farmers’ Organisation Authority (LPP).

The office of the Agriculture and Food Security Minister said in a media statement issued on Saturday (Sept 9), that all participating padi farmers received a padi incentive of RM8 per sack (85 kilogrammes) in 2021 and would receive RM9/sack for this year which was a contribution from the state government.

“This is in addition to the aid given by the federal government for padi planting incentives through the provision of input subsidies such as legal rice seeds, fertilisers, pesticides, ploughs, and output subsidies of the Padi Price Subsidy Scheme (SSHP) amounting to almost RM1.63bil per year in country including Terengganu,” said the statement.

The statement was issued as a clarification regarding myGAP Beras Ganu produced by Terengganu.

The statement also said that until now, the area of padi crops in Terengganu which has received the myGAP certification involves 908.70 hectares (ha) out of 12,000 ha.

From the aspect of Beras Ganu myGAP production in 2021, a total of 450 tonnes were successful harvested and this was only 6% of the rice supply in the Terengganu market.

“For the record, the self-sufficiency level (SSL) for padi in Terengganu in 2022 was 56% due to the unexpected floods that happened and not 78% as reported by some parties,” the statement said.

A message went viral claimed Terengganu had successfully increased the padi SSL rate from 42.7% in 2019 to 49.22% (2020), 54.15% (2021) and 78.87% (2022).

myGAP was a certification scheme designed in 2002 by the Department of Agriculture to give recognition to farms that practise good agricultural practices to produce safe and quality food, protect the environment, and ensure the safety and welfare of workers. – BK