Budget 2022 should focus on feeders for livestock, says farmers and agro businessmen who spoke to Business Today.
They question the shortage of feeders is one of the factors impacting animal food security.
Some in the farming industry question the allocation of huge amounts of money for the agriculture sector while feeders are always in short supply.
Agriculture expert Professor Faisal KS says, “What’s the point in allocating billions of ringgit if the issue remains unsolved?
“For 60 years, MARDI’s has been conducting research to solve the issue of feeders for livestock but till now, the result is not conclusive,” he says.
He says in every budget, there are enough funds allocated for research and the money is more than enough. But there is no result. Do you see the problem?”
When asked about his thoughts on Budget 2022 and how it will affect agriculture, he simply states, “The budget does nothing because all the money probably goes elsewhere when it should have gone to the farmers.”
Food security refers to having constant physical and financial access to enough food to meet dietary requirements for productive and healthy livestock.
Shortage in the supply of barn could affect the production of livestock of small-scale farmers who rely on agricultural produce for a living.
The problem is regardless of whether the total amount was located in the budget weight on the issue, the issue remains year in, year out without any sign of improvement.
Nazarruddin Hassan, a businessman concurs with Faisal, saying, “Budget allocation for agriculture means nothing. It doesn’t matter the amount the government allocates, it can be up to hundreds of billions, but the real question is where does all the money go?”
Iffah Salleh contributed to the article
