KUALA TERENGGANU: The contract farming programme by the Federal Agricultural Marketing Authority (Fama) is one of the strategies to liberate farmers from the profiteering of middlemen, the Terengganu assembly was told today.
Agriculture, basic industry, food security, and commodity assurance committee chairman Azman Ibrahim said the programme enabled Fama to purchase produce from farmers at current market prices.
He added that if market prices dip below a fair threshold, Fama would set a floor price of 10% to 20% above production costs to safeguard them from financial losses.
Addressing a question by Yusop Majid (Bersatu-Permaisuri), he also said farmers were not obliged to sell exclusively to Fama, they could opt to sell elsewhere if offered better prices.
He said the direct from farm sales programme allowed farmers and smallholders to sell directly to consumers or selected Fama outlets such as permanent farmers’ markets, wholesale markets and agro bazaars.