KUALA LUMPUR, June 20 — A second meeting between the government and livestock industry players to gather input to address food security issues will be held early next month, said Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI) Datuk Seri Dr Adham Baba.
Through the initiative, Dr Adham said MOSTI can continue to connect industry players with existing technologies such as aquaponics, artificial intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT) that can be used to reduce production costs.
“Last Wednesday (June 15) we had our first meeting with the relevant ministries and I will meet with livestock breeders including the National Farmers Organisation (NAFAS) early next month.
“There are two approaches that can be taken in this regard, namely by meeting them or they (industry players) come to certain sites to see how existing technology can be fully utilised,” he said after attending the Southeast Asia Science Advisory Network Meeting (SEA SAN) at a hotel here today.
Dr Adham said he had recently invited Agriculture and Food Industries (MAFI) Minister Datuk Seri Ronald Kiandee to visit the aquaponics site in Perak, which uses nano-fertiliser fertigation systems and solar energy in rearing livestock.
“As a result of the technology used, the quality of the product is increased. That is why we are trying to connect not only farmers but also growers because the source of material such as corn, and soybeans need to be highlighted in addition to palm kernel expeller (PKE) which can replace corn as animal feed (palm kernel cake),” he said.
Meanwhile, Dr Adham said Malaysia had sought to propose that the Open Science initiative be established through the Malaysia Open Science Platform (MOSP) since 2019, to enable data on best practices in the industry to be widely shared among scientists.
“This shared data will help create solutions to economic and social issues and open our eyes to the best practices to be used to advance the industry,” he said.
Therefore, the SEA SAN meeting is important because it brings together experts in various fields from Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam to discuss science in formulating a policy for the benefit of all parties, he added.
Commenting on the launch of MEASAT-3d, MEASAT Satellite Systems Sdn Bhd’s new satellite, on Wednesday (Thursday Malaysian time), Dr Adham said it is a communications satellite that connects remote areas in the country with 4G coverage, before being upgraded to 5G.
“This satellite will connect areas that previously could not be connected via the internet and it will function for 15 years as a communications satellite in space,” he said.
MEASAT-3d, the most comprehensive and complex satellite in MEASAT’s fleet to date, is based on Airbus’ Eurostar 3000 satellite platform and scheduled to be launched using an Ariane 5 rocket from the European Space Agency’s launch site in Kourou, French Guiana.
