Sustaining Malaysia's Future
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Sustaining Malaysia’s Future The Mega Science Agenda Agriculture A M E G A - SCIENCE FRAM E WORK FOR SUSTAINED NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT (2011 – 2 0 5 0 ) CONTENTS Epilogue … … … … … … … … … vii Preface … … … … … … … … … … xviii Executive Summary … … … … … … … … xxi List of Figures … … … … … … … … … xxv List of Tables … … … … … … … … … xxvii Abbreviations … … … … … … … … … xxviii 1 Introduction … … … … … … … … … 1 1.1 Early Agriculture … … … … … … … 2 1.2 New Agriculture … … … … … … … 5 1.3 Sustainable Development … … … … … … 6 1.4 Cycle-loop Production Systems … … … … … 7 1.5 Wellness … … … … … … … … 7 1.6 Mega Science Framework … … … … … … 8 2 Study Approach and Methodology … … … … … … 10 2.1 Appointment of Consultants in the Appropriate Area of Expertise ... 10 2.2 Interviews with Key Officials in the Various Subsectors … … 10 2.3 Reference to Key Journals, Websites and Other Publications … … 10 2.4 Brainstorming Seminars among Members of the Working Group … 10 2.5 Workshop with Stakeholders … … … … … 10 3 Status of Agriculture … … … … … … … … 11 3.1 Evolution and Paradigm Shifts towards Sustainable and Inclusive Agriculture 11 i) Natural History and Evolution from Hunting-Gathering to Farming 11 ii) Agricultural Footprints of Past Civilizations in the Tropics … 16 3.2 The Rise, Fall and Rise Again of Agriculture … … … 18 i) Ninth Malaysia Plan (9MP) … … … … … 22 3.3 Crops … … … … … … … … 32 3.4 Livestock … … … … … … … … 39 i) The Livestock Industry Today – Malaysia and the world … 39 ii) Science, Technology and Innovation Contribution… … … 50 iii) Domestic Germplasms … … … … … 52 iv) R&D investment … … … … … … 53 v) Future Trend in Livestock Industry … … … … 56 3.5 Fishery and Aquaculture … … … … … … 63 3.6 Agroforestry … … … … … … … 65 i) Traditional Agroforestry Practices … … … … 66 ii) Conventional Agroforestry Practices … … … … 68 3.7 Precision Farming … … … … … … … 75 3.8 Food and nutrition situation … … … … … … 78 i) Socio-demographic changes … … … … … 78 ii) Data on nutritional status of population groups … … 78 iii) Nutritional status of children … … … … 79 iv) Nutritional status of adults … … … … … 83 v) Micronutrient deficiencies … … … … … 86 vi) Infant and young child feeding pattern … … … 87 vii) Changes in food consumption pattern … … … 88 viii) Non-communicable diseases related to lifestyle … … 93 iii 4 Challenges Posed by Megatrends … … … … … … 95 4.1 Population Increase … … … … … … 95 4.2 Diminishing Arable Land … … … … … … 95 4.3 Depleting Resources … … … … … … 98 4.4 Climate Change … … … … … … … 99 4.5 Loss of Connectedness of the Ecoweb … … … … 101 4.6 Water … … … … … … … … 106 i) SRI Management Practices … … … … … 111 4.7 Energy … … … … … … … … 117 4.8 Health … … … … … … … … 118 4.9 Biodiversity, Genomics and Genome Engineering … … … 119 4.10 Monoculture Farming System … … … … … 120 5 Growth opportunities and Science, Technology and Innovation needs … … 123 5.1 Crops … … … … … … … … 123 i) Perennial Crops … … … … … … 124 ii) Fruit crops … … … … … … … 127 iii) Vegetables and Herbs … … … … … 127 iv) Ornamental and Other Plants … … … … … 128 v) Energy Crops … … … … … … 128 vi) Agroforestry … … … … … … 128 vii) Agrisilviculture … … … … … … 131 viii) Silvipastoral … … … … … … 132 ix) Home-garden … … … … … … 136 x) Community Forestry and Rare Fruit Reserve … … … 138 xi) Perennial Crops and Biodiversity … … … … 139 5.2 Livestock … … … … … … … … 141 i) Poultry … … … … … … … 141 ii) Swine … … … … … … … 145 iii) Ruminants … … … … … … … 147 iv) Other Livestock and Wildlife Species … … … 152 v) Livestock and the Environment … … … … 153 vi) Animal Welfare … … … … … … 157 5.3 Trans-Global Tropical Agriculture … … … … … 159 5.4 Agro biotechnology … … … … … … 161 5.5 Controlled-Environment Agriculture System … … … 165 5.6 Precision Agriculture … … … … … … 167 i) Adoption Strategy … … … … … … 176 ii) Barriers to adoption of precision farming … … … 177 iii) Water Management … … … … … … 179 iv) Future of Precision Farming … … … … … 184 5.7 Agriculture and Human Nutrition … … … … … 185 i) Bridging data gaps … … … … … … 188 5.8 Future nutritional issues in Malaysia … … … … … 188 5.9 Agriculture and Economics … … … … … … 196 5.10 Sustainable Agriculture … … … … … … 201 6 Supporting activities … … … … … … … … 203 i) Development of Human Capital in Agriculture … … 203 ii) Training of Future Farmers … … … … … 206 iii) Extension Education … … … … … 207 iv) Technology Transfer … … … … … … 210 iv 7 Current Policies … … … … … … … … 213 7.1 Policies Pertaining To Development of Crops … … … 213 7.2 Policy frame work in Livestock … … … … … 215 7.3 Research Funds … … … … … … … 217 8 Recommendations … … … … … … … … 222 8.1 Biogeographical Transplant of species … … … … 224 8.2 Plant Gene Technology … … … … … … 227 8.3 Sustainable, Vertical and Urban Agriculture … … … … 235 8.4 New Fishery and Aquaculture … … … … … 245 i) Marine Capture Fisheries … … … … … 246 ii) Aquaculture Fisheries … … … … … 246 iii) Inland Fisheries … … … … … … 247 iv) Aquarium Fish … … … … … … 247 v) Fish Processing and Handling … … … … 247 8.5 Human Capital in Agriculture … … … … … 248 8.6 Convivialism in Agriculture towards ASEAN 2015 … … … 249 8.7 Water use Technology … … … … … … 250 8.8 ICT as Enabler for Productivity in Agriculture … … … 251 9 Milestones … … … … … … … … … 255 9.1 Research Milestones … … … … … … 255 9.2 Milestones from Crop, Livestock and Fishery Perspectives … … 258 9.3 Logical Framework Analysis (LFA) … … … … … 276 10 Conclusion … … … … … … … … … 281 11 References … … … … … … … … … 283 12 Appendix … … … … … … … … … 305 12.1 Acknowledgments … … … … … … 305 12.2 Members of Consultancy Team … … … … … 306 13 Index … … … … … … … … … 307 v EPILOGUE 1. Introduction Science has been universally touted as the main engine of economic growth and national develo p ment. Science from its Latin name „scienta‟ means knowledge. A knowledge - based economy is essentially a s c i e n c e - based economy. New knowl edge i.e. “science” is generated by undertaking research, experiments and strategic studies or R&D. R & D and strategic studies provide the means to fulfill market needs and find solutions to various problems. The results and findings are delivered in the form of new or enhanced knowledge, technology and products or services. This results in productive economic activities which contribute to wealth creation and economic growth. Malaysia, as a country, should adopt the concept of a Mega - S c i e n c e Framework as a c o m p r e h e n sive vehicle to drive the use of science, technology and innovation (STI) to contribute towards ec o n o m i c growth. Mega essentially means big, therefore the discipline of Mega - Science implies a pe r vasive (broad - based), intensive (in - depth), and extensive (long period of engagement) use of science or knowledge to produce technologies, products and services for all sectors of the economy to derive economic growth and development. It also calls for extensive investment in research acti v ities to enha nce the knowledge base for the targeted sectors. Since knowledge in marketing and finance is equally important in promoting the success of a commercial venture as compared to tec h nical needs, it is envisaged that the Mega - S c i e n c e approach will require rese arch to be conducted both in non - t e c h n i c a l sectors as well as in traditional scientific sectors. 2. A need for national knowledge generating mechanism As we are aware, national economies are classified into 5 sectors namely: agriculture, mining, manufacturi ng, construction and services (Table 1). Efforts to generate knowledge by establishing r e s e a r c h institutions and universities and centers of excellence to support agricultural, mining and manufacturing sectors are well established. The construction and se rvices sectors are also d e pendent on new knowledge and technology in order to progress and remain competitive. vii R & D and strate g ic studies are also necessary to drive the development of these two sectors. Table 1 NATIONAL ECONOMIC SECTORS (% OF GDP) SECTOR 2010* 2015** SERVICES 58.5 61.1 AGRICULTURE 7.6 6.6 MINING 7.9 5.9 MANUFACTURING 26.2 26.3 CONSTRUCTION 3.2 2.9 Source:*Economic Report 2009/2010 (MoF) **RMK10 Report (EPU) The Mega-Science approach would emphasize the need to strengthen R & D and strategic studies to be undertaken in these non- traditional sectors. For example, to enhance the development of the tourism industry (service sector), dedicated R&D and strategic studies should be undertaken to generate new knowledge that will lead to the delivery of new tourism products, services and innovative strategies which will improve competitiveness of the industry. Similarly, research studies, market surveys and financial models are proposed especially for the services sector as the knowledge created will fulfill a need or solve a problem which eventually will generate revenue and contribute to economic growth. The Mega Science approach therefore identifies R&D and strategic studies as the key enablers to economic growth in all targeted sectors of the economy. 3. A need to invest sufficiently in knowledge creation: R & D and knowledge acquisition To become a high income developed economy, Malaysia as a country has to intensify knowledge generating capacity by investing in R&D and strategic studies. The expenditure in R & D must reflect the norm usually associated with countries having a developed economy. While past viii expenditure in R & D for Malaysia as a developing country has hovered at 0.5% of the national GDP,