KUALA LUMPUR: The government will encourage private investment based on large-scale agriculture through the provision of incentives, land, financing and technology grants, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
He said food production needs to be increased so that it is large-scale and competitive to ensure that food supplies are at reasonable prices.
“In facing the challenge of rising prices of goods and food supply disruptions, the agri-food sector needs to be revamped by prioritising self-sufficiency of local food production through automation and digitisation,” he said when tabling Budget 2023 themed ‘Developing Malaysia Madani’ in Dewan Rakyat today.
He added that Bank Negara Malaysia provides funds of up to RM1 billion under the Agrofood Facility scheme to help agro-food entrepreneurs increase production and productivity.
In terms of training and guidance, Anwar who is also the Finance Minister said that the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation will expand the implementation of the Digital Agtech programme to train more smallholders to adapt to technology.
“This initiative is estimated to benefit 100 farmers’ organisations nationwide with an allocation of RM10 million,” he said.
Anwar also said the government also plans to provide an accelerated capital allowance and exempt 100 per cent income tax on capital expenditure.
Elaborating further on taxes, Anwar explained that the application period for tax incentives for food production projects is extended until end-2025 with the scope of incentives expanded to include modern agricultural projects based on controlled-environment agriculture. – BERNAMA
