DOSM Census Records 40 Pct Of Penang's Agriculture Sector, Making It Highest State

GEORGE TOWN, Aug 3 (Bernama) -- The Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) has enumerated a total of 18,122 organisations and entrepreneurs in the agriculture sector covering the activities of crops, livestock, fisheries, aquaculture as well as forestry and logging in Penang.

Chief statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin, who is also the 2024 Agriculture Census commissioner, said it involved about 8,000 censures that had been conducted in Penang from July tilll today.

“Today is the 28th day of the 2024 Agriculture Census and across the country, it has reached 31 per cent while Penang is the highest state with 40 per cent of the census already carried. We expect this state to complete (the 2024 Agriculture Census) earlier than the nationwide October target.

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"From the aspect of agricultural land in Penang, there are 36,040 hectares and the sector's contribution last year was less than three per cent but it involved a total of RM2.2 billion. Even in this state, one of the biggest activities is ornamental fish compared to other states," he told reporters after the 2024 Agriculture Census field trip programme at a marine fish cage in the waters off Penang here today.

Previoulsy, the DOSM reported that it is estimated that there are more than 1.3 million households or individuals involved in agriculture, with nearly 20,000 registered organisations, institutions, cooperatives and associations also involved in the sector, and that the implementation of the census is very important, especially from farmers, in collecting related data agriculture including the problems faced.

Mohd Uzir said the DOSM was given the responsibility for implementing it in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (KPKM) and Ministry of Plantation and Commodities (KPK).

He sad the 2024 Agriculture Census is the government’s effort to evaluate the performance of the agriculture industry in Malaysia and provide basic data on the profile of agricultural holdings such as demographic information, agricultural produce, input costs, farm size, land use and ownership, mechanisation as well as technology use.

"Based on preliminary findings in most places that we went to nationwide, the involvement of youth in agriculture, in terms of percentage, is still quite low and needs to be increased, The census also found that the average entrepreneur, especially the older ones, imagine that the agriculture sector needs to attract more youths so that it will allow them to continue,” he said.

"We also found that 30 per cent of theoretical knowledge in the agricultural sector is obtained in formal education at universities and so on whereas 70 per cent is obtained in the field, so this census is very important because we can see many things that are presented," he said.

He said the challenges faced by enumerators in carrying out the Agriculture Census in Penang included many uncooperative and hesitant respondents who refused to disclose agricultural information.

Therefore, Mohd Uzir called on organisations and agricultural entrepreneurs in the state to cooperate with the DOSM in making the census successful for the sake of the sustainability of the country's agricultural sector, in line with the 2024 Agricultural Census theme "The Key to Agricultural Progress".

Meanwhile, a DOSM statement, issued in conjunction with the programme, said based on the gross domestic product (GDP) report, Penang's agriculture sector contributed 1.9 per cent to the state's GDP with a value added amounting to RM2.2 billion.

It said the fisheries subsector is the largest contributor to the agricultural sector in the state with a contribution of 40 per cent, followed by the crops subsector at 33 per cent and livestock at 27 per cent last year.

"Census findings can provide benefits, especially to farmers, to access crop and livestock data in more detail and help in making decisions related to ways to increase supply chain efficiency and improve product offerings," it also said.

In addition, DOSM said data helps policymakers and industry players to make better decisions and optimise operations in the agricultural sector.

-- BERNAMA