PUTRAJAYA: The Agriculture and Food Industries Ministry (MAFI), through its Agriculture Department, is ready to assist individuals interested in becoming coffee entrepreneurs.

       It said it will assist from beginning to end — starting with the preparation of the planting process, irrigation system to coffee processing.

       Deputy director-general of the Agriculture Department (Management and Regulatory), Datuk Zahimi Hassan, said there were only about 2,000 coffee growers in Malaysia, mainly in Kedah, Johor and Sabah.

       The majority of coffee varieties grown are liberica and robusta.

       According to data from the Agriculture Department, coffee cultivation in Malaysia in 2021 is 2,220 hectares (ha) compared with 2,114 ha in 2019.

       Coffee production in 2020 was 4,241 tonnes compared with 3,559 tonnes in 2019, with the main producers being Johor and Sabah, he said.

       “The coffee production figure is expected to increase yearly by taking into account the potential of coffee bean production according to the maturity of the trees,” he told reporters after the national-level 2021 World Coffee Day Celebration here yesterday.

       “The main problem in this industry is manpower needed to pick ripe coffee beans as not all beans in one stalk of coffee will ripen simultaneously. Therefore, there is a need to re-pluck the ripe beans from that stalk at another time,” he said.

       Zahimi said the government had approved an allocation of RM4.5mil under the 12th Malaysia Plan (12MP) for the Coffee Plantation Industry Development Project, which aims to provide infrastructure and post-harvest handling facilities as pest control equipment.

       MAFI Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ronald Kiandee, who officiated at the virtual World Coffee Day celebration, said in his message that his ministry would place special emphasis on formulating new initiatives to encourage young, local entrepreneurs to venture into the coffee industry.

       Oct 1 is celebrated by the International Coffee Organisation as the World Coffee Day to promote coffee as a daily drink, appreciate coffee farmers and the entire coffee value chain, including processors, manufacturers, to consumers.

       Forty-nine countries are in the organisation. — Bernama