The media has reported on the plight of paddy farmers who experienced ar educed yield due to insect attacks on their crops. Last year, they experienced severe flooding which caused damage to their crops. This year the insects/pests further aggravated the impact of last year’s loss. The report focused on the utilisation of pesticides.

According to the media: 'In March last year (2009), Deputy Agriculture and Agro-Based Industry Minister Mohd Johari Baharum was reported as saying that Muda Agricultural Development Authority (Mada) was preparing a working paper for a standardised pest-control system in the padi fields. Under the system, he said the ministry would provide a suitable amount of pesticides to the farmers'.

The agriculture and agro-vased industry ministry seems very shortsighted about the problems which are beginning, if not already plaguing, the agriculture sector due to first of all to the lack of technology and innovation in improving the yields of locally-produced crops for food.

Furthermore, the ministry and its agencies seem to lack a sense of urgency on what changes in climate are doing to agriculture production all over the world.

We depend on Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and India for about 30% to 35% of our rice supply. Guess what? The agriculture sector is one of the most vulnerable to changes in weather and climate. According to some studies, warming may affect pest life cycles and their ability to respond to pesticides.

Available datasets from China's Cropping Management and Agriculture Department show that the average loss of rice grain yield due to plant diseases and insect pests were 3.79 million tons per year during 1987–1996 and 4.77 million tons per year during 1997–2006, accounting for 2.1% and 2.6% of the national total rice yield, respectively.

The above situation has a direct impact on increased pesticide use and that is exactly what was experienced in China’s case when pesticide use grew 30%. As a result, the farmers will bear additional cost of inputs for their agriculture activities and indiscriminate or increased use of pesticides further stresses the environment.

According to the International Rice Research Institute (Irri), some of Asia’s most important rice- growing areas are located in low lying deltas such as in Vietnam, Thailand, Bangladesh and India. Southeast Asia collectively produces 150 million tons of rice a year, 95% of which is consumed in the region.

So we urge both the agriculture and agro-based industry ministry and the domestic trade, cooperative and consumerism ministry and other related agencies to have some critical review of our agriculture system, their subsidies and price control mechanism.

In 2008, Vietnam, Brazil and India, enforced the ban on exports of this commodity, causing the price to jump in the international market. During the price hike in 2008 for rice, there was call for the government not to renew Bernas' import permit when it expires in 2010.

Rice of all types are declared as controlled goods under the Control of Supplies Act 1961 – governed by the domestic trade, cooperative and consumerism ministry. We hope with the probability of price hikes, we are not called to consume less rice citing obesity and cardiovascular diseases.

We call on all the relevant agencies to review, implement and continuously improve our National Agricultural Policy based on minimising dependence on imported food, strengthening our food security through adequate adaptation and mitigation measures and enhancing the agriculture sector based on sustainable agriculture principles.

This requires the input and involvement of all stakeholders in the whole supply and value chain; across ministries, researchers, consumers and the industry. The welfare of farmers who are critical to the success of a sustainable agriculture policy must be ensured as this could entice young entrepreneurs into the agro-business which needs a renewed enthusiasm as well as energy from the youth population.

The writer is president, Malaysian Association of Standards Users.