Churning out rice for food security

Penang government is aiming to produce its own rice in a move to enhance food security.

The initiative will supply locally grown white rice at affordable prices while benefitting the B40 target group.

Penang agrotechnology, food security, and cooperative development committee chairman Fahmi Zainol, who is spearheading the project, said it would be branded as “Beras Cap Feri”.

State publisher Buletin Mutiara reported that Fahmi had said the local rice would be made available in Penang in the next two months.

“The state exco meeting reached an agreement on March 20 to produce the state’s local rice under the ‘Beras Cap Feri’ brand.

“Subsequently, on March 25, a comprehensive meeting of the Penang rice steering committee took place, bringing together key stakeholders from various departments and agencies.

“Participants included the Penang Agriculture Department, Federal Agricultural Marketing Authority (Fama), Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute (Mardi), Integrated Agricultural Development Area (Iada), Farmers’ Organisation Authority (LPP) and the Rice Monitoring Division.

“The agenda centred on deliberating the operational framework to produce ‘Beras Cap Feri’, fostering collaboration among these entities to ensure its successful implementation,” he said.

Fahmi said emphasis would be given to Penang Fama to market ‘Beras Cap Feri’ and the initial sales phase would start at specific Fama and LPP facilities such as Agrobazaar Fama and Peladang Outlets.

He said that to date, the Penang government had carried out negotiations with the Penang Farmers’ Organisation (PPN) to allow the state government to directly purchase padi from PPN before it was processed into ‘Beras Cap Feri’.

“This also means that ‘Beras Cap Feri’ will use locally sourced rice from Penang,” he said.

Fahmi emphasised that ‘Beras Cap Feri’ represented a significant initiative by the Penang government aimed at bolstering food security within the state while offering locally cultivated white rice at an accessible price compared to market rates.

“The production of ‘Beras Cap Feri’ will also be extended to the B40 target group at a more affordable rate than the prevailing market prices,” he added.