MALAYSIA EYES COLLABORATION WITH US ON SWEET CORN AND SOYBEAN RESEARCH

KUALA LUMPUR, March 10 (Bernama) -- The government, through the Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute (Mardi), plans to focus on collaboration with the United States in research on sweet corn and soybeans, the Dewan Negara was told today.

Deputy Agriculture and Food Security Minister Datuk Chan Foong Hin said this is because the United States is the leading producer of both commodities.

“With the expertise of the United States, we can engage in germplasm exchange, modern breeding technologies, and seed production mechanisation to reduce dependence on imported animal feed,” he said when replying to a supplementary question from Senator Musoddak Ahmad.

On the status and mechanism of Malaysia-United States collaboration in agricultural technology, Chan said it is currently limited and centred on Mardi, an agency under the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (KPKM).

He said it involves bilateral cooperation with the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), covering technology, research, and agricultural innovation.

“This collaboration is implemented through USDA-sponsored capacity development programmes such as the Borlaug Fellowship Programme and USDA FAS Scientific Exchange Programme in 2024, which involve the placement of Mardi research officers at academic institutions in the US for technology transfer, enhancement of scientific expertise, and strengthening international research networks,” he said.

Chan added that collaboration is also conducted through multilateral platforms such as the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), particularly under the High-Level Policy Dialogue on Agricultural Biotechnology, where Mardi co-hosted agricultural biotechnology workshop with the USDA in 2020.

In addition, he said MARDI was involved in two projects in 2023 focusing on regulatory collaboration, innovation, climate change mitigation, and trade in agricultural biotechnology products.

-- BERNAMA