Malaysia Agriculture, Horticulture & Agrotourism 2014 (MAHA 2014) Show
1. Introduction. MAHA 2014 was organised by The Ministry of Agriculture & Agro-based Industries in conjunction with the National Farmers, Livestock and Fishermen's Day from November 20 to 30, 2014 at the Malaysia Agro Exposition Park (MAEPS), Serdang, Selangor. Its organisation was managed by two key agencies in the Ministry - MARDI and FAMA - and supported by the Ministry of Tourism as the event is highlighted in the Visit Malaysia Year 2014 activity and the departments and agencies under the Ministry. The theme of the Show was 'Agroteknologi Pemangkin Transformasi' (Agrotechnology as Catalyst to Transformation). As indicated in the Message of the Hon. Minister, YB Dato' Seri Ismail Sabri bin Yaakob, in the Programme booklet, the Exposition was held to showcase the Ministry's and government efforts and initiatives to transform the agriculture sector into a more competitive and sustainable one as a catalyst for the economic development and the well-being of the people in the country. It also provided a platform for all stakeholders to display the various innovative products and opportunities available in the various segments of the agricultural industries.
2. Official Opening. The official opening ceremony was held on Saturday November 22 from 8.00 to 11 am. The big Hall D of MAEPS was filled with delegates particularly those representing the farmers' and fishermen's associations from the various states from all over the country. In the opening remarks as the first speaker, Y Bhg. Dato' Seri Haji Saipolbahari bi Haji Suib, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the National Farmers' Association, thanked the Government for the generous allocation in the 2015 budget to assist the farmers, livestock rearers and fishermen and support the Ministry's effort to eliminate middlemen. In his welcoming address, the Minister of Agriculture, among other issues, touched on the generous allocation of the 2015 budget for agriculture, that the Exposition focused on eight key areas - participation of the farmers, livestock keepers and fishermen; AgroTrade; Malaysian Agricultural and Innovation Challenge (MAgIC), Agro Food Industry; Agro Based Industry; Agro Youth, Agro Tourism and Agro Lifestyle; that the Ministry has established a Young Agropreneur Unit and a one-stop centre to develop a yearly target of 1000 agropreneurs. In his opening address YAB Dato' Seri Mohd Najib bin Tun Hj. Abdul Razak, the Prime Minister, indicated that FOOD SECURITY is receiving global attention as the population is projected to reach 9.6 billion in 2050 from the current 7.2 and that food production will have to expand by 60 percent so as to meet the requirement. This challenge, he said, could be met if we can expand the development and utilization of technologies and innovations. He illustrated two examples of how this is happening. One example is Holland, a small country but by using technologies and control of the supply chain, it is a major producer and provider of food to the world. The second example he cited is the successful research on producing lobsters in Sabah. The key factors to agricultural development are technologies and innovations and control of the supply chain.
3. Awards and Recognition. MAHA was organised in conjunction with the National Farmers, Livestock keepers and Fishermen's Day and appropriately the occasion was used to accord recognitions and awards in the following categories. It is interesting to read the background, economic activities, awards and recognition and the social and community involvements of each of the recipients of the Awards, as contained in the Souvenir Book.
3.1 Peladang Jaya (Lelaki) - Tuan Hj Md. Judyar bin Malik
3.2 Peladang Jaya (Perempuan) - Puan Hajh Nasiah by. Hj. Mohd Yunus
3.3 Nelayan Jaya - En. Rijan bin Hj. Hassan
3.4 Penternak Jaya - Puan Siti Fatonah bt Arbian
3.5 Penternak Ikan Jaya - En. Halim bin Bakar
3.6 Siswazah Pertanian dan Industri Asas Tani Jaya - Puan Noor Rafidah bt. Mustapha
3.7 Agropreneur Muda Jaya - Puan Nurul Hakim bt Shahri
3.8 Unit Peladang Jaya - Unit Peladang Kelemak, Melaka
3.9 Kumpulan Tani Komersil Jaya - Kelompok Buah-Buahan Mempaga
3.10 Kumpulan Wanita Jaya - KPW Parit Kemang, Batu Pahat, Johor
3.11 Pertubuhan Peladang Jaya - Pertubuhan Peladang Kawasan Kongkong
3.12 Pertubuhan Nelayan Jaya - Persatuan Nelayan Kawasan Kuantan
3.13 Anugerah Inovasi Pertanian dan Industri Asas Tani Jaya - Hajjah Aminah Food Industries
3.14 Anugerah Industri Asas Tani Jaya - Jeruk Madu Pak Ali Enterprise
4. Exhibitions. The exhibits were displayed over the sprawling exhibition ground made up of:
4.1 Hall A - housed exhibits of the government departments and ministries which
focus on, among others, agrotourism, urban agriculture, agro youth and young
agropreneurs, orchids and MAgIC.
4.2 Hall DG - housed the international components which include displays of agricultural
products
4.3 B1 and B2 Agrobazaars - housed the agro-based products ranging from processed
food from cakes, pickel products, fish and beef products, spices, herbal formulations
4.4 Special Exhibition Areas known as Taman for Livestock, Fish, Paddy, Machinery,
Floriculture, Herbs and Vegetables
4.5 State Pavilions - exhibits highlighting the agricultural transformation in each state of
the Federation.
I visited the Show for two days - Saturday November 22 and Thursday Nov 27 and could cover only the exhibits in Halls A, DG, B1 and B2 Agrobazaars and the weather did not permit me to venture to see exhibits in the Taman and the State Pavilions. I wanted very much to visit the Floriculture Section as report has indicated that an exhibit whereby recycled materials were being used for home gardening, was of much interest to me.
YB Dato' Seri Ismail Sabri bin Yaakob, Minister of Agric & Agro-based Industry,
highlighting the eight areas of focus
YAB Dato' Seri Mohd Najib bin Tun Hj Abdul Razak, the Prime Minister delivering his Opening Address
The theme of MAHA Show
Guests and delegates at the Official Opening
The big hall was overflowing with guests and delegates at the Official Opening
Awards and Recognition for farmers, livestock keepers and fishermen in conjunction
with their National Day
3. Awards and Recognition. MAHA was organised in conjunction with the National Farmers, Livestock keepers and Fishermen's Day and appropriately the occasion was used to accord recognitions and awards in the following categories. It is interesting to read the background, economic activities, awards and recognition and the social and community involvements of each of the recipients of the Awards, as contained in the Souvenir Book.
3.1 Peladang Jaya (Lelaki) - Tuan Hj Md. Judyar bin Malik
3.2 Peladang Jaya (Perempuan) - Puan Hajh Nasiah by. Hj. Mohd Yunus
3.3 Nelayan Jaya - En. Rijan bin Hj. Hassan
3.4 Penternak Jaya - Puan Siti Fatonah bt Arbian
3.5 Penternak Ikan Jaya - En. Halim bin Bakar
3.6 Siswazah Pertanian dan Industri Asas Tani Jaya - Puan Noor Rafidah bt. Mustapha
3.7 Agropreneur Muda Jaya - Puan Nurul Hakim bt Shahri
3.8 Unit Peladang Jaya - Unit Peladang Kelemak, Melaka
3.9 Kumpulan Tani Komersil Jaya - Kelompok Buah-Buahan Mempaga
3.10 Kumpulan Wanita Jaya - KPW Parit Kemang, Batu Pahat, Johor
3.11 Pertubuhan Peladang Jaya - Pertubuhan Peladang Kawasan Kongkong
3.12 Pertubuhan Nelayan Jaya - Persatuan Nelayan Kawasan Kuantan
3.13 Anugerah Inovasi Pertanian dan Industri Asas Tani Jaya - Hajjah Aminah Food Industries
3.14 Anugerah Industri Asas Tani Jaya - Jeruk Madu Pak Ali Enterprise
4. Exhibitions. The exhibits were displayed over the sprawling exhibition ground made up of:
4.1 Hall A - housed exhibits of the government departments and ministries which
focus on, among others, agrotourism, urban agriculture, agro youth and young
agropreneurs, orchids and MAgIC.
4.2 Hall DG - housed the international components which include displays of agricultural
products
4.3 B1 and B2 Agrobazaars - housed the agro-based products ranging from processed
food from cakes, pickel products, fish and beef products, spices, herbal formulations
4.4 Special Exhibition Areas known as Taman for Livestock, Fish, Paddy, Machinery,
Floriculture, Herbs and Vegetables
4.5 State Pavilions - exhibits highlighting the agricultural transformation in each state of
the Federation.
I visited the Show for two days - Saturday November 22 and Thursday Nov 27 and could cover only the exhibits in Halls A, DG, B1 and B2 Agrobazaars and the weather did not permit me to venture to see exhibits in the Taman and the State Pavilions. I wanted very much to visit the Floriculture Section as report has indicated that an exhibit whereby recycled materials were being used for home gardening, was of much interest to me.
NFT Farming received lots of interest in Hall DG
Urban Agriculture
Urban Agriculture displayed in Hall A
Part of Agro-tourism - Hall A
Orchid Section - Hall A
Agro-based products at the Agrobazaar Hall
Agro-based products at the Agrobazaar
Agro-based products (Trigona bee) at the Agrobazaar Hall
With Y. Bhg Dato' Ahmad Zakaria, DG Dept of Agric at the Urban Agriculure section of the
DOA. Glad to see many of the CEOs of the departments and agencies were on the ground
Agro Youth Section
5. Malaysian Agriculture Innovation Challenge (MAgIC). This section which was displayed in Hall A was of special interest to me at this Show as this is the first time the technology and innovation aspect of agriculture was being given attention. According to the Director General of MARDI, the organiser of this platform at MAHA together with the Malaysian Agricultural Research Society (as reported in the Agro section of Utusan Malaysia Dec 8 2014) , MAgIC was organised with the objectives, among others, to promote the innovative and creative culture; a platform to accord recognition to researchers; and to create awareness among the stakeholders on available technologies, in agriculture and agrobased industries. The categories that were judged include horticulture, food crops and industry, aquaculture, livestock, biotechnology, food technology, agro-nano technology, natural and biological resources, agricultural biosystem and engineering and ICT in agriculture. Among the entries received for this Challenge were 142 from MARDI, 34 from uiversities, 8 from schools, 6 from colleges and polytechnics and 5 from the private sector. The recipients for the MAgIC Special Awards were:
5.1 Prof Madya Dr Azura Amid - The commercialisation of recombinant Bromelain for industrial use
5.2 Suri Roowi - High Caffeic Acid Drink from Orthosiphon stamenii (misai kucing)
5.3 Prof. Dr Wan Azlina Ahmad - Environmental friendly bacterial pigment
5.4 Norshila Abu Bakar - Solar grass mower
5.5 Choo Po Kuan - Solar controlled agricultural system
5.6 Mohd Zamani Ngali - Granular fertilizer Boom Sprayer Distributor Transient Simulator
5.7 Ahmad Shahrizat - PALF as composite alternative
MAgIC Front Corner
Pre-commercialization of Recombinant Bromelain project which received the
Special Award
Another product that received the Special Award
6. Supporting Activities - National Pra-Congress and Congress on Food Agriculture. As part of the supportive activity of MAHA a Pra-Congress and Congress on AgroFood was organised by MOA in collaboration with the Malay Consultative Council on November 6, 2014 and November 21, respectively . I participated and delivered a paper entitled ' Pembangunan Sektor Agromakanan - Kepentingan Penyelidikan, Kemajuan Teknologi dan Inovasi'
Dato' Dr Hassan Mad, Chairman Organising Committee of the Congress delivering his remarks
Participants at the Congress
7. Concluding Remarks. It was perhaps the biggest MAHA Show so far, receiving record number of visitors inspite of the many rainy days. The Ministry of Agriculture and Agrobased Industries must be congratulated for the new initiatives taken as reflected at the Exhibition - its jihad fight against middlemen, its development of young agropreneurs, its recognition of the importance of technology and innovation by highlighting them in MAgIC, its recognition of the need to control the supply chain of agro-based products by establishing one stop centres in key cities in the world, efforts in food security and also to get all stakeholders - the government, the private sectors, NGOs - to work together.
Posted on December 8, 2014
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