This follows the approval of the proposed formulation of the Farmers Registration Enactment during a meeting yesterday between minister Mohamad Sabu and state executive councillors in charge of agriculture.

“Through this initiative, efforts to ascertain the actual number of farmers in the agricultural sector will facilitate the government in distributing aid and incentives.

“It will also serve as a reference for all quarters, especially in planning the development of the agro-food sector and preventing leakage in the provision of aid to farmers,” Bernama reported the ministry as saying.

The proposal is in line with the National Agrofood Policy 2021-2030, the National Food Security Policy Action Plan 2021-2025 and the Sustainable Development Goals 2030.

“Organic farming is one of the activities emphasised in addressing critical global challenges through environmentally-friendly and safe practices,” the ministry said.

It said the meeting also noted the initiative to strengthen agricultural and agro-food sector data, which requires data management support from state governments to ensure current and reliable data across time.