@ AGROBiz | January-February. 2026

• MAFS’ s 2026 New Year ' s message focuses on strengthening food sovereignty as a critical foundation for national resilience.

• In 2025, the agriculture sector contributed 11.4 per cent to national GDP, a significant achievement.

• MAFS aims to enhance key sectors with specific production targets and self-sufficiency goals.

This message emphasised the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security’ s( MAFS) efforts to strengthen food sovereignty, which underpins national resilience.

In his speech, the Minister reflected on the significant progress made by the country ' s agricultural sector in 2025, which resulted from the effective implementation of the Ministry ' s strategic initiatives.

The country ' s agri-food sector recorded an added value of RM145.35 billion, contributing 11.4 per cent to the country ' s overall Gross Domestic Product( GDP).

Additionally, from January to October 2025, the country ' s total agri-food trade recorded a foreign trade value of RM126.31 billion, with exports amounting to RM48.74 billion and imports totalling RM77.57 billion.

Notably, the country ' s agri-food trade balance improved, with the deficit narrowing to RM28.83 billion from RM33.14 billion in the same period the previous year.

KEY ACHIEVEMENTS IN 2025

Among the important successes of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in 2025 were:

• Rice Industry Development: The SMART SBB( Large Scale Rice Field) Programme recorded participation from 18,650 rice farmers across 92 locations, covering more than 46,500 hectares, and successfully increased rice yields to six-seven metric tons per hectare.

• Ruminant Industry: A total of 68 satellite farms across seven States contributed to the production of more than 45,000 livestock.

• Fisheries Sector: GDP increased by RM9.18 billion, with RM6.05 billion from capture fisheries and RM3.14 billion from aquaculture.

• Pineapple Crops: Generated national income of around RM1 billion through the export of 1,735 containers of fresh pineapples and pineapple products to the global market, and through the expansion of cultivated areas by 18,922 hectares.

• Strengthening Youth Involvement: Grant assistance under the Young Agropreneur Programme, totalling over RM23 million, was approved for 843 young agropreneurs.

UNITED EFFORTS: Attendees gathered at Wisma Tani Multipurpose Hall for the New Year’ s Message 2026.

• HPPNK Organisation: Attendance reached 504,491 visitors, with sales totalling RM15.59 million.

• MADANI Agro Sales Programme: A total of 3,738 programmes were successfully organised nationwide, far exceeding the original target of 3,500 and achieving an impressive 106.8 per cent.

GOALS FOR 2026

As the Ministry moves into the new year, it will lead a Reverse Investment approach to protect and secure the country ' s critical

STRATEGIC INSIGHTS: Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Sabu shares key achievements and future initiatives to enhance the agricultural landscape in 2026. food commodity supply, focusing on four key industries: ruminants( cattle), rice, milk, and seeds and breeds.

Furthermore, the Ministry will emphasise empowering domestic investment as a key strategy to enhance the capacity and competitiveness of the country ' s agro-food sector.

The Minister also stated four main focuses of the KPKM for 2026:

• Strengthening the Rice Industry: Aiming for sustainable increases in rice production to reduce reliance on imports and enhance food supply security.

• Strengthening the Ruminant Industry: Ensuring an adequate supply of beef and buffalo as the primary protein source for the population, with a target of increasing production to around 50,000 metric tons and raising the Self- Sufficiency Rate( SSR) to 18 per cent.

• Strengthening the Downstream Industry Ecosystem: Aiming to reduce food waste by five per cent and boost yield productivity by empowering Agrohub Centres by 10 per cent.

• Strengthening Agricultural Infrastructure: Implementing a 3M approach – Build, Upgrade, and Maintain – across all sub-sectors, including paddy, crops, livestock, and fisheries.

Concluding his speech, he called on all ministry staff to uphold the principles of integrity, honesty, and efficiency in delivering quality services. The Minister then officiated the launch of Tanaman Padi( PaddyChat), one of the pilot projects under the DX Padi 2025 Programme, which farmers can widely utilise.- @ AGROBiz