He added that Malaysia also ranked eighth-best among Asia-Pacific countries, ahead of countries like Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, Myanmar, the Philippines, and India.

According to Kiandee, Malaysia’s change in position from 28 to 44 among 113 countries worldwide in the 2019 Global Food Security Index list was due to adjustments made by the Economic Intelligence Unit.

“This adjustment has not only changed Malaysia’s position in 2019, but also caused Singapore to drop from first place to 20th. Meanwhile, Australia is now ranked 26th, down from 12th previously,” he told the Dewan Rakyat with regard to the ministry’s initiative to improve food security for the welfare of Malaysians.

Kiandee said the many challenges including dependency on food imports, increased demand, climate change, constraints on natural resources, lack of skilled manpower and youth participation, low levels of technology adoption, and low sustainable agricultural practices need to be addressed.

He said the government is committed to continuously strengthen the nation’s food security to remain stable under all circumstances.

“Among the government’s efforts are the establishment of a Cabinet Committee on National Food Security Policy (FSCC) and the setting up of a sustainable National Food Security Policy Action Plan (DSMN) for 2021-2025,” he said.

According to Kiandee, the ministry is changing its approach by increasing the country’s rice and padi production up to 70% and the import dependency by 30%.

Through the large-scale Smart Padi Field Project (Smart SBB), he said the ministry foresees an increase in padi productivity levels and farmers’ income in the second harvest season this year.