PERAMBALUR: Malaysia's Deputy Minister of Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Saraswathy Kandasami on Sunday remarked that the Southeast Asian country was looking to increase food production by purchasing millets from Tamil Nadu and making agriculture profitable.
On a visit to Tamil Nadu, Kandasami met with S Prakadeesh Kumar, owner, Plus Max Group of Companies, in Permablaur. During an interaction with reporters, she remarked, "youngsters in Malaysia are showing more interest in farming, so I came to visit the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University in Coimbatore to discuss technological development in agriculture. To mark the International Year of Millets (IYoM) 2023, we are planning to grow millets in Malaysia. While paddy is the staple crop in Malaysia, we are planning to introduce millet varieties, for which we have to procure the seeds from India."
"Malaysia relies on imports for 60 per cent of its food and agricultural needs, and our aim is to reduce this by increasing food production through cooperatives. We are going to hire a lot of workers for agricultural work in the country. There's enough land and rain in Malaysia, which is suitable for cultivating crops, but we also plan to find ways to make agriculture profitable through the use of technology," the deputy minister added.
Prakadeesh Kumar said, "Talks are going on with the Tamil Nadu government to export maize from Tamil Nadu to Malaysia. A decision regarding this will be taken soon. In the next stage, we might even set up the export of shallots to Malaysia. Soon we can set up a vegetable market in Poolambadi in Perambalur for export to Malaysia."