LETTEREncouraging young people to venture into agriculture is important as it presents a huge opportunity to reduce youth unemployment – 58.2 per cent of the total in 2019 – improve their livelihoods.
Most importantly, the sector can be the catalyst to reduce the country's dependency on foreign labour and boost our food security as well as export which will then contribute significantly to our GDP growth.
Agriculture holds a noteworthy share of 7.1 per cent of GDP and the only industry that experienced expansion in the second quarter of this year (2Q20) – 1.0 per cent.
Presently, the Ministry of Agriculture Development and Food Industry has opened the Young Agropreneur programme application, aiming to help and encourage youth involvement in the agricultural sector, which covers all areas in the value chain such as crops, livestock, fisheries, and agro-based industries.
This year, RM20 million was allocated to develop 1,200 young agropreneurs. Among the requirements are – applicants must be Malaysian, aged between 18 and 40, and priority will be given to those with access to land facilities and existing premises.
Looking back at these requirements, those with no access to land facilities and premises may have small chances to receive the benefits of this programme.
This is why, the government should provide the youth with grants that can help them to secure or buy land for agricultural purposes, instead of just renting the land via Temporary Occupation Land (TOL) which requires yearly renewal of land licences.
Imagine what will happen to their businesses if one day, let's say after five years, they may have to vacate their farms if the authorities refuse to renew their TOL licences – and which, if they disobey, could be considered a squatter, and they can be sued for trespassing. What a waste, right?
Next, it is crucial to eliminate barriers to start-up capital as this will facilitate the youngsters to start their agribusinesses. For instance, connecting them to consumers, suppliers of agricultural products, extension programmes and the media are vital to support and assist them in participating in this industry.
Lastly, training programmes linking them to smart farming practices and profitable agribusinesses should be given priority. This training should equip them with new agricultural skills that utilise modern technologies such as GPS, soil scanning, data management, and IoT technology to boost the quantity and quality of agricultural products.
But, all is not lost when we analyse the estimated monthly GDP for June – introduced by Department of Statistics for the first time – showing agriculture is one of the two sectors that show positive growth. This surely mean that the youths are listening!
AFIFAH SUHAIMI
EMIR Research
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of the New Straits Times