The Sultan of Perak, Sultan Nazrin Shah, yesterday officiated the opening of Perak Agrofest 2023 in Sungai Siput September 30, 2023. — Bernama pic
SUNGAI SIPUT, Oct 1 — The Sultan of Perak, Sultan Nazrin Shah, yesterday officiated the opening of Perak Agrofest 2023 here.
His Royal Highness’ arrival at 10.05am was welcomed by Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Saarani Mohamad.
Saarani, in his speech, said the state government has multiplied efforts so that all initiatives to strengthen food security as contained in the Prosperous Perak 2030 can be realised, especially through the collaboration of agencies and departments related to the agricultural sector, to generate large-scale food production.
He said for the agricultural sector, Perak’s self-sufficiency ratio (SSR) in 2022 for 13 selected types of crops including coconut, starfruit and papaya is sufficient and meets domestic demand with SSR values exceeding 100 per cent.
As for the fisheries sector, Saarani said Perak is the leader in Malaysia with the highest amount of production for aquaculture and capture fisheries, recording a self-sufficiency level (SSL) of 98.31 per cent last year.
As for the livestock sector for 2022, Saarani said it has exceeded the 100 per cent of SSR value, namely chicken and duck meat as well as chicken and duck eggs.
“Hopefully, with the ongoing efforts, Perak will not only be able to strengthen aspects of food security in the state but also serve as a platform for strengthening the national food security agenda as a whole, in line with the National Food Security Policy Action Plan (2021-2025) and National Agrofood Policy 2.0 (2021-2030),” he said.
In today’s programme, Sultan Nazrin presented 15 awards to the winners of the various competitions held in conjunction with the state-level Farmers, Breeders and Fishermen’s Day.
Sultan Nazrin also visited the booths set up by the departments and agencies.
Themed ‘Lestari Agro, Perak Makmur’, (Sustainable Agro, Prosperous Perak), the three-day agrofest, from Sept 29 to Oct, is a biennial event, held alternately with the Malaysian Agriculture, Horticulture and Agro Tourism Exhibition (MAHA).
It serves as a platform to promote products based on agriculture, innovation and the latest technology while also giving opportunities to entrepreneurs, especially Perak entrepreneurs, to introduce their products to a wider market. — Bernama
