The purpose of this paper is two-fold. Firstly, I elect to explore the reasons why agriculture is firmly back on the policy agenda of Malaysia and other countries. In so doing, a major motivating factor for writing this paper and orientating it in this elected manner is my observation that despite the timeliness and relevance of this (re)emphasis on agriculture, given Malaysia’s current stage of development and relative endowments, on the one hand, and the challenges and opportunities accompanying globalisation and rapid technological change (in biotechnology, information and communication technology (ICT) and nanotechnology and their impending convergence) on the other, there still appears to be a lack of understanding or appreciation of the underlying rationale and implications of this (re)emphasis.
Secondly, I note that amongst the major factors leading to this revival of interest in agriculture is the increasing relevance and impact of agriculture and food (agri-food) Supply Chain Management (SCM) and the inexorable rise of supermarkets at the global, regional and Malaysia levels. These, coupled with the advancements and applications of biotechnology, on the one hand, and that of ICT, on the other, and their impending convergence (bioinformatics and beyond) are expected to lead to a ‘big bang’ or major structural shift making it a worthy and exciting area of study. Events leading up to the ‘big bang’ and their ramifications will prove to be a boon to those who have anticipated or are prepared for it and a bane to those who are ill prepared along the entire agri-food supply chain. These are very strong and distinct trends that we ignore at our own peril. Thanks.
HAPPY NEW YEAR 2021 TOMORROW!....
By,
M Anim,
Putrajaya,
Malaysia
31 December 2020.
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