THE 50 per cent increase in the international price of rice

over the past two months and the possibility of further in

creases unless supplies in crease Najib No plans to in 2014 crease price of local rice NST April 1 is indeed food for

thought

New Straits Times, Mohd Peter Davis

Universiti Putra Malaysia Institutional Repository

FOOD PRODUCTIONHi tech farms the answerTHE 50 per cent increase inthe international price of riceover the past two months andthe possibility of further increases unless supplies increase Najib No plans to increase price of local rice2014NST April 1 is indeed food forthoughtMost disturbingly for Malaysia which is only 60 percent self sufficient rice maysoon be unavailable at anyprice as major exporters suchas Vietnam hang on to theirsupplies to protect their ownpopulation The Philippines isnow in a desperate situationand is unable to import the500 000 tonnes ofrice it needsto prevent starvationMalaysia s very efficientchicken egg and other food industries provide a majorsource ofprotein for the population but are totally dependent on imported cornHalf our carbohydrate consumption comes from imported wheatBoth of these cereals havedoubled in price over the lastyear There s no end in sight tothis hyperinflation and worldstocks are at their lowest levelsin 40 years Soon wheat andcorn like rice may be unavailable on world marketsI have been warning aboutthis kind ofsituation for yearsAt a national conference onBio Industry The Future forMalaysia held in March 2002my warnings calling for anEmergency Food Committeeto boost Malaysian hi techfood production especially inrice beef goat and sheepmeat and milk fell on deafearsMalaysia with its relativelysmall population is still dependent on imports generallyfrom less developed countriesfor 50 per cent ofits foodThe cause of the hyperinflation in basic food commoditiesis the world economy whichran into difficulties in July lastyear That is the harsh realityMalaysia needs to immediately set up a powerful Emergency Food Committee to implement a crash science andengineering programme toboost local food production using hi tech methods not thebackyard farming Malaysia isnow practisingThe universities the Malaysian Agricultural Researchand Development InstituteMardi and entrepreneurshave developed solutions butthey are being implemented ata snail s pace ifat allFor example the widespread introduction of thepractical rice irrigationmethod developed by Universiti Putra Malaysia wouldgreatly increase the yield perhectare and could soon makeMalaysia self sufficient in riceSimilarly Mardi has developed sweet potato farmingwhich could be rapidly scaledup on the bris soils of the eastcoastTo become self sufficient inprotein is much more difficultand we need to think out oftheboxMalaysia has a hidden foodresource which if immediately harnessed may create themiracle we need The warmconditions in Malaysia combined with a plentiful supply ofrain sunshine and naturallyhigh carbon dioxide levelsprovide the perfect environment for the world s highestproduction of biomass in theform of trees plants andmore importantly grassCattle sheep goats andeven rabbits can be fed grassand mass produced in Malaysia but not by traditionalgrazing whichhas proved disappointing over the last 50yearsA large grass farm has beenestablished in Pahang and 300high yielding milch cows areon their way from AustraliaThey will be fed cut grass to establish an ultra modern dairyfarm potentially five timesmore productive per hectarecompared with the best NewZealand dairy farmsTwo glasses of milk per person per day or its equivalentas butter cheese and yoghurtwill supply the needed proteinintake when supplementedwith anormal fish dietTo scale up such dairyfarms and also similar hi techcattle sheep goat and evenrabbit farms Malaysia hasplenty of agricultural landShocks like sudden foodshortages are now to be expected on all fronts includingloss of our manufactured exports as the world economygoes through a period of difficulty Only a rapid return tothe level of science and technology that got man on themoon can now save me population There are no other alternativesMOHD PETER DAVISInstitute of AdvancedTechnology Universiti PutraMalaysia

Hi-Tech Farms The Answer

http://psasir.upm.edu.my/2047/1/20080407_N_NST_LN_pg22_Hi-tech_farms_the_an.pdf

Hi-Tech Farms The Answer

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