FAMA’s Agropreneur Tour programme aims to address youth shortage in agriculture through modern training and grants for young entrepreneurs.
KANGAR: The Federal Agricultural Marketing Authority’s Agropreneur Tour programme has become a crucial platform for empowering youth and ensuring the sustainability of Malaysia’s agri-food sector.
FAMA Deputy Director General Faisal Iswardi Ismail highlighted the sector’s significant challenge with youth participation remaining low while most agro-entrepreneurs are aged 60 and above.
According to the 2024 Agricultural Census Report, senior entrepreneurs account for 45.3% of Malaysia’s agricultural workforce.
ALSO READ: Malaysia’s agri-food trade value grows 18.4% to RM148.11 billion in 2024
FAMA is addressing this generational gap through both the Agropreneur Tour and Young Agropreneur Grant initiatives.
“We want them to view agriculture as a professional high-income career as the sector has now become more modern with the integration of automation technology and the Internet of Things,” Faisal told reporters after closing a product cost calculation course.
The state-level 2025 Agropreneur Tour in Perlis marked the 22nd location in this year’s series of 24 courses nationwide.
ALSO READ: FAMA targets RM1.6 million sales at Perak Agrofest 2025
Course sessions include collaborations with agencies like the Ministry of Health for food labelling and MARDI for product sustainability and branding.
From 2023 to date, the Young Agropreneur programme has produced 2,197 young entrepreneurs nationwide with grant allocations totalling RM50,050,808.06.
“Through these initiatives, we hope that more young people will join the agro-food sector and help strengthen the country’s food trade balance,” Faisal added.
He emphasised the sector’s tremendous potential for both domestic demand and export market expansion. – Bernama
