Agriculture census could strengthen sectoral planning, says Fadillah

SERDANG: The 2024 Agricultural Census will help the government establish a comprehensive agricultural data framework covering economic, social and environmental aspects within the agricultural ecosystem, says Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof.

The Deputy Prime Minister said the census would culminate in the development of an Integrated Agricultural Statistics Database that would cover agricultural data from upstream and downstream and integrate administrative data from various government agencies down to the state and district levels.

“This will enable the creation of a new database, providing timely and reliable statistics for planning the country’s agriculture sector,” Fadillah said yesterday at the launch of the 2024 Agricultural Census at the Malaysia Agro Exposition Park.

Also present were Minister of Agriculture and Food Security Datuk Seri Mohamad Sabu, Deputy Minister of Plantations and Commodities Datuk Chan Foong Hin and Chief Statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin.

The Department of Statistics has been tasked with managing data collection for the 2024 Agricultural Census.

This is the fourth census of this type conducted in the country, the previous one taking place in 2005.

Fadillah also noted that the agricultural sector has been the backbone of the country’s economy since independence.

“In 1970, this sector accounted for 28.8% of gross domestic product.

“This percentage will decline to 6.4% in 2023 due to the rapid growth of the industrial and service sectors compared to the agricultural sector.

“Although the contribution of the agricultural sector declined, its value added increased to RM141.9 billion in 2023 from RM16.2 billion in 1987.

“This is in line with the country’s population growing from 16.8 million people in 1987 to about 34 million in 2024,” he said.

To ensure that the welfare of farmers is protected, the government has allocated RM6.17 billion for the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security in the 2024 budget, Fadillah said.

“This allocation represents a 14.4% increase compared to the previous year and aims to intensify programs and assistance to make farmers more competitive.”

Fadillah said his ministry has proposed expanding the agricultural sector through the use of solar panels, given the significant number of solar farms being built.

He stressed that the study conducted by Universiti Putra Malaysia showed promising results.

“The inclusion of agrivoltaic systems in our country’s legal framework, especially within the National Energy Transformation Roadmap, offers significant benefits.

“By combining agriculture with photovoltaic energy generation, agri-voltaic systems make efficient use of land to develop renewable energy,” Fadillah said, adding that they support the ministry’s goals of economic diversification, inclusive growth and technological advancement, revitalizing the rural economy with new income streams for farmers.

The Office of the Chief Statistician said in a separate statement that a portal has been created to improve understanding and communication of the 2024 Agricultural Census.

“It provides comprehensive and interactive content in the form of infographics and visualizations, allowing the public to access the latest information. As of July 1, the number of visitors to the census portal reached 1.02 million.”

It was added that the success of the census requires the cooperation of all agricultural entrepreneurs, institutions and organizations.

The census, which will be carried out from July 7 to October 10, will cover four subsectors: crops, animal husbandry, fishing and aquaculture, and forestry and logging.

For more information on the 2024 Agricultural Census, please visit www.myagricensus.gov.my and www.facebook.com/bancipertanian2024.