BAKU, Azerbaijan: Farmers are encouraged to venture into mixed farming on a large scale so that they can reap higher returns.
Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahahir Mohamad said this was the direction the government wanted the agriculture industry to gravitate towards in a bid to address the country's huge food import bill, which is almost RM60 billion annually.
Presently, most farmers are smallholders like the Felda landowners who plant oil palm or rubber trees on small acreage of land. As such the returns are not profitable.
"They should diversify and venture into vegetable and fruit farming and use modern technology.
"If they introduce mixed crops on a large scale they would be able to combine with other farmers and run it like a big estate.
"They could then plant a variety of crops, fruit trees, and vegetables, like tomatoes. The farmers would have bigger capital and they would be able to hire professionals to manage the estates.
"They will also be able to offer their produce for the export market and they will have a steady income," he told reporters at the close of his visit to several places in Baku yesterday (Saturday).
Dr Mahathir was here to attend the 18th Summit of the Non-Alignment Movement. He had on Friday addressed delegates at the summit.
The prime minister said farmers should not rely on one particular crop alone, because when the price dropped, they will be affected," he said, adding that farmers needed to change their mindset and be more competitive.
Earlier, during a meeting with the Malaysian diaspora here, Dr Mahathir encouraged students who had studied in agriculture to use their expertise and skills in the agriculture field and not let those skills go to waste.
"They have the skills, they should go and work for the private sector. They are professionals and they can help impart their knowledge in the farming sector."
Dr Mahathir also said he was impressed with what he saw when he visited Azersun Holding’s Green Tech Farm earlier.
The farm, located on the outskirts of Baku, is a modern 35ha greenhouse complex equiped with state-of-the-art technology, producing organic vegetables such as tomatoes, egg plant, cucumber and chili.
The prime minister, and accompanied by Foreign Minister Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah and Malaysian Ambassador to Azerbaijan Datuk Yubazlan Yusof, were given a 40-minute tour of the facility and briefed on the farm's operations by Azersun vice-president Tahir Goozal.
Dr Mahathir and his entourage also tasted some of the vegetables.
Azersun is the biggest conglomerate in Azerbaijan's the food production, retail and farming sector. It is also the republic's largest food exporter and producer.
After Green Tech, Dr Mahathir visited the site of Yanar Dag, or the "burning mountain", an area where natural gas-fire which blazes continuously on a hillside on the Absheron Peninsula on the Caspian Sea near Baku.
The prime minister then paid a courtesy visit to Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev at the Zagulbal presidential place.
At the brief 20-minute meeting, Aliyev had praised Dr Mahathir's speech during the general debate at the NAM Summit.
Dr Mahathir was then taken on a tour of the Petronas office here.
Petronas' presence among the oil and gas giants in Azerbaijan has changed the landscape of the oil and gas industry in the republic. Prior to Petronas' opening here, the industry was monopolised by Western companies such as British Petroleum (BP), Chevron, and TOTAL Statoil.
Petronas, one of Fortune Global 500 largest corporations, started operations in Azerbaijan after the opening of the Malaysian Embassy in Baku in 2014. Petronas had acquired 15.5 per cent equity in the Shah Deniz II Production Sharing Agreement (SD PSA) from Norway’s Statoil for USD2.25 billion.
As a stakeholder in the PSA, Petronas also owns 15.5 per cent equity in the South Caucasus Pipeline Company Limited (SCPC) and 12.4 per cent equity in Azerbaijan Gas Supply Company Limited (AGSC).
Dr Mahathir, accompanied by his wife Tun Dr Siti Hasmah Mohd Ali, later left for Turkmenistan for two-day visit beginning today (Sunday, Oct 27). The visit is expected to further strengthen existing friendly ties between Malaysia and Turkmenistan which was established 27 years ago.