Food for my country - CNET Asia Blogs: High on a Hill
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It's December. There are Christmas parties, gift exchanges, and singing of Christmas carols. This' the season to be jolly!
In today's news, our former minister says that "Malaysia should not go back to an agriculture-based economy because the country would not be able to achieve the economic growth that the Government desires and overcome unemployment."
Doesn't that sound like an "Industrial Revolution" that a neighbouring country had, which left many starving? In fact, many who were from that country had fled it, back then, and landed in Malaysia, to the chagrin of the locals.
I guess I should read the fine print. Perhaps Tun didn't mean that we should burn all our farmlands and turn them into factories. He did say, "We can still give attention to agriculture because it is making advances in terms of technology."
Hmm, but what about giving attention to agriculture because it is providing food for our people? And using technology to improve our farming methods so that we can produce enough to be self-sustainable?
He added, "To depend entirely on agriculture will not be productive. One acre (or 0.4ha) of land could not produce enough food even for one family."
Er, wouldn't that be more reason to pour more effort into our local agriculture? It seems that we'll need more land to produce more food for the whole country, and we'll need better agriculture technology so that each acre can produce enough for more than just one family.
It seems a delicate thing to balance. If we're too focused on agriculture and do not have enough office jobs for everyone's sons and daughters, people will not be happy. After all, who would want their child to grow up to be a farmer?
If we're too focused on building factories and neglect agricultural growth, we'll be dependent on imported food which means that should the supply become scarce, our country may not be able to access it.
I don't like the idea of having to depend on others to produce too much of our basic staples, if you ask me.
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