KUALA LUMPUR (March 27): The government aims to explore the potential of reverse investment (RI) in the agrofood and agriculture sectors to help enhance the sources and supply of food for the country.

Agriculture and Food Security Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Sabu, who is also known as Mat Sabu, said that for the time being, the ministry had provided a general guideline for investors, especially private companies, that are interested in investing via RI abroad.

He said reverse investment requires the investors involved to bring back the food produce invested in other countries to Malaysia to meet domestic needs.

“The concept and interpretation of RI in the context of agrofood is the exploration and expansion of local investment abroad, in which agricultural activities could be carried out via joint ventures or in partnership in the country concerned.

“The commodity which is brought into the country would be considered part of the domestic production, and the commodity must be fully sourced from investments made in each stage of the production value chain,” he said when winding up the debate on the royal address in the Dewan Negara on Monday (March 27).

Mohamad said countries found suitable for RI to produce cattle, buffalo, goat and sheep meat are Indonesia, Australia, Thailand, Papua New Guinea, Pakistan and India, while Indonesia is ideal for maize and production of other animal feed. 

Meanwhile, the minister said that for most agriculture graduates who are not employed in the field after finishing their studies, it could be due to the slow return of earnings, sometimes taking up to one year. 

Therefore, among the measures implemented by the ministry to encourage youth and agriculture graduates to be actively involved in the field is by providing various allocations via Agrobank, he said. 

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