Budget 2027 must put food first: 10 ways to boost food security

Many people in Malaysia may not realise it, but the country is expected to face food security challenges as we approach 2027.

This stems from prolonged geopolitical developments. They have pushed fertiliser, animal feed, energy and transport costs to high levels, which could cut farm output and push up food prices.

Higher prices will not show up straight away. Production costs take several months to filter through, because farmers decide what to plant well before harvest.

Prices across the board will rise as higher natural gas prices drive up the cost of nitrogen-based fertilisers. Higher costs for diesel, freight, insurance and packaging will inevitably hit the entire food supply chain.

Unable to cope with rising costs, farmers may use less fertiliser or delay planting, which would hurt yields. At first, we may not feel the shortage. But production will eventually fall.

Malaysia’s self-sufficiency in various food items is already a concern and should be tackled immediately. In 2024 the rice self-sufficiency ratio stood at just 52.9%. For beef and mutton, it was far lower, at about 16.8% and 8.5%.

Malaysia is better placed in palm oil, chicken and eggs. However, poultry production still depends heavily on imported feed.

The country imports more than 90% of the grain maize and soybean meal used in poultry feed, which drains its foreign exchange.

Meanwhile, the trade deficit for food and live animals widened to RM32bn in 2025 from RM17bn in 2014. This underscores the country’s growing exposure to international food prices and supply disruptions.

Focus on food

Hopefully, Budget 2027 will give food supply the priority it deserves. It should reinforce national production, raise crop yields and modernise storage and cold-chain road and rail networks.

The food sector must prepare for the challenges ahead: climate-resilient farming, automation, better water supply and more varied import sources in case of unforeseen events. These measures are critical to containing future supply shocks.

Higher food prices could ripple through to ordinary people, particularly low-income households. Food makes up nearly one-third of the typical consumption basket, so extra pressure on household spending could have dire consequences.

We surely do not want that.

Lessons from Denmark

I have always been passionate about food security. I think it stems from my visits to Denmark, where I saw how people developed their food ecosystem along the whole value chain.

In an emergency, our periuk nasi (rice pot) will be the number one priority for ordinary people.

The Danish food ecosystem covers research and development, integrated farming, manufacturing, food cooperatives, logistics, marketing and distribution. Food-based associations also play a pivotal role. The government acts only as a catalyst.

Imagine: Denmark, with almost six million people, produces enough food for five times its population!

The Malaysian government should send officials from relevant ministries and agencies to learn about the food ecosystem in Denmark. These include the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Federal Agricultural Marketing Authority, Federal Land Development Authority, Malaysian Investment Development Authority and the Malaysian External Trade Development Authority.

We can learn valuable lessons from Denmark’s universities and research institutes that work on innovation in food production and technology.

The following measures can be implemented.

1. State governments should identify suitable land for vegetable and fruit cultivation, poultry farms and aquaculture.
2. The federal government must direct all states to draw up comprehensive plans to develop the food sector, taking local and national needs into account.
3. Revive a plan from 1974, which aimed to make Malaysia self-sufficient in food through subsidies and by encouraging farmers to raise output. The plan stressed full use of land, with short-term crops, clustered agricultural plots, livestock farming and freshwater fish conservation plans.
4. Encourage community-based planting of vegetables and fruit in residential areas, like the mini-farms in Bangsar. Identify suitable areas, especially under high-tension power lines, and ask Tenaga Nasional to approve residential farming.
5. Inspire residents with landed property to grow vegetables and fruit in any small space in or around their homes. Besides meeting our food needs, this will help cut carbon emissions.
6. Encourage residents’ associations to start projects to plant vegetables and fruit in vacant spaces. Once harvested, the produce can be shared among all residents.
7. Government agencies should offer advisory services to people growing food and running poultry farms.
8. Offer attractive financial incentives to farmers and all who are commercially engaged in food cultivation and poultry production.
9. Encourage closer cooperation among all food sector stakeholders.
10. Learn from the Danish model and from Norway and Iceland on modern, high-tech fishing methods.

In 2025 Malaysia’s food import bill was a whopping RM100bn, compared with RM55bn in 2020. The country should take drastic steps immediately to cut it.

A cabinet committee should be set up immediately to address food security. We should not only be self-sufficient in food but also a net exporter globally.

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