PETALING JAYA: The public and food operators can breathe a sigh of relief as the issue of chicken supply is expected to be resolved following the government intervention, says Federation of Livestock Farmers Associations Of Malaysia.
Its adviser Datuk Jeffrey Ng told The Star that a meeting between the farmers and Agriculture and Food Industries (Mafi) deputy secretary-general (development) Datuk Badrul Hisham Mohd was held on Wednesday (June 15) and the ministry has finally helped them by simplifying the process to apply for the allocated subsidy.
This, he added, would allow farmers to improve their production and eventually solve the issue of chicken shortages.
"Previously we had 13 documentations that we needed to submit in order to apply for the subsidy, now they have simplified it to only three documents and we can apply via online.
"We are thankful that Mafi is willing to go to the ground to help us solve the matter," he said.
Mafi previously said so far, only RM50mil in subsidies have been paid out, although a total subsidy of RM729.43mil had been allocated under the Keluarga Malaysia Price Control Scheme since Feb 5, in line with the ceiling price of standard chicken at RM8.90 per kg.
The government, Jeffrey added, was also working hard to solve other matters, including reducing chicken prices.
"The government announced that the National Farmers Organisation (Nafas) and Angkatan Koperasi Kebangsaan Malaysia Berhad (Angkasa) want to come into the business and do large-scale poultry farming, so that will help increase our stock locally.
"Another thing is right now even though we are using crude oil palm (for chicken feed) that are locally produced, we are buying it based on the international market prices, so we are trying to find a solution to this, if we can reduce the cost for chicken feed, we can reduce the price of chicken," he said.
The government, Jeffrey said, was also looking at resolving issues surrounding the approval of the Development Order, which is hampering efforts to modernise the existing farms by converting them from open to closed farms.
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