Food Wastage
Plan to curb rising food prices
With food prices escalating, the government wants the people to learn to be more self-sufficient while the Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations said the government must adopt a more dynamic agricultural policy as a long term plan to address the issue.
PUTRAJAYA: With world food prices increasing steadily, the government is fast mobilising players in the business to help cushion the imminent economic impact on the people.
Food operators, importers, exporters and hypermarkets, among others, will be sitting with the government soon to plan methods that both the government and industry players can adopt in addressing the global food crisis.
Deputy Domestic Trade, Consumerism and Cooperatives Minister Datuk Tan Lian Hoe said with the escalation in world food prices, it was also important for the people to learn to be self-sufficient.
"Those who own small pieces of land or even a garden plot can start to learn how to plant vegetables for their own consumption," she said.
However, the Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations (Fomca) said the government must adopt a more dynamic agricultural policy as a long-term plan to address the issue of rising food prices.
Its chief executive officer, Datuk Paul Selva Raj, told the New Straits Times that it was pivotal for the government to nurture and promote food production locally and depend less on imports.
"Food security is very important and at present we depend quite heavily on imported food," he said.
He added that that for the short-term, the government must continue with subsidies.
He also called for the setting up of a solid social safety net to ensure the poor had at least a minimum standard of living.
This, he said, was because findings showed the poor spent more money on food -- between 40 and 60 per cent of their money compared with between 15 and 20 per cent for those in the upper and middle-income brackets -- and so would be more affected.
With food prices escalating, the government wants the people to learn to be more self-sufficient while the Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations said the government must adopt a more dynamic agricultural policy as a long term plan to address the issue.
PUTRAJAYA: With world food prices increasing steadily, the government is fast mobilising players in the business to help cushion the imminent economic impact on the people.
Food operators, importers, exporters and hypermarkets, among others, will be sitting with the government soon to plan methods that both the government and industry players can adopt in addressing the global food crisis.
Deputy Domestic Trade, Consumerism and Cooperatives Minister Datuk Tan Lian Hoe said with the escalation in world food prices, it was also important for the people to learn to be self-sufficient.
"Those who own small pieces of land or even a garden plot can start to learn how to plant vegetables for their own consumption," she said.
However, the Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations (Fomca) said the government must adopt a more dynamic agricultural policy as a long-term plan to address the issue of rising food prices.
Its chief executive officer, Datuk Paul Selva Raj, told the New Straits Times that it was pivotal for the government to nurture and promote food production locally and depend less on imports.
"Food security is very important and at present we depend quite heavily on imported food," he said.
He added that that for the short-term, the government must continue with subsidies.
He also called for the setting up of a solid social safety net to ensure the poor had at least a minimum standard of living.
This, he said, was because findings showed the poor spent more money on food -- between 40 and 60 per cent of their money compared with between 15 and 20 per cent for those in the upper and middle-income brackets -- and so would be more affected.