What Foods Are Grown in Your Hometown?

At first glance, Malaysia might look small on the map, but did you know it’s actually a mid-sized country? With a total land area of 330,411 square kilometres (or 33,041,140 hectares), we rank as the 66th largest country in the world.

Our tropical climate, blessed with year-round rainfall and abundant sunlight, is ideal for farming. But surprisingly, only 3% of our land is used to grow food. According to 2023 data from the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (MAFS), that’s 982,586 hectares — about the size of Kedah.

Now, here’s something to think about: Malaysia’s population grew from 30.7 million in 2014 to 33.4 million in 2024 — a 9% increase, or 2.7 million more people to feed. You’d expect that we’re using more land to grow crops, right? Well, the opposite is true. From 2014 to 2023, our cropland actually shrank by 7.6%—that’s 80,478 hectares, roughly three times the size of Kuala Lumpur, based on data from MAFS.

If you’re hoping this means we’ve boosted crop yields to make up for the loss of land, the data says otherwise. Crop production has dropped by 10%, from 6.79 million metric tonnes in 2014 to 6.1 million metric tonnes in 2023.

Decline in crop production and cropland over the past decade

How much land is used to grow food crops?

With less food produced and more people to feed, Malaysia has increasingly relied on imported food. In fact, as our previous article on food security showed, we’ve been importing more rice in recent years due to lower local production.Let’s take a closer look at where our food is grown and what crops are planted.Since rice is Malaysia’s staple food, it’s no surprise that over 60% of cropland is used for paddy farming. Fruits come in second, taking up one-fifth of the cropland.

One reason for this decline is that most agricultural land in Malaysia is dominated by industrial communities like palm oil and rubber, which are economically significant. According to a report published by Khazanah Research Institute in August this year, only 16.3% of agricultural land is used for food production. The rest? Reserved for industrial communities.However, changes in land size don’t always correspond to production trends. For example, fruit and coconut production actually increased despite a decrease in cropland. Fruit production rose by 14%, while coconut production saw a nearly 5% increase. This shows that crop yields can be influenced by other factors, like weather patterns and soil quality.

Foods produced by your hometown

Here’s a fun thought: What crops are grown in your hometown? Many of us, especially those from urban areas, might not realize that the districts we grew up in are part of Malaysia’s food production network.

Using district-level crop data from MAFS, we’ve created the following interactive tool where you can see the top food items produced in your area.

Are you surprised by what’s grown near you?

Part of the reason agriculture often flies under the radar is due to lingering stereotypes about the industry. Farming is still seen as tough, dirty, and low-paying work. DOSM data shows that farmers in the crops, livestock, and fisheries sectors earn an average of RM1,524, RM2,074, and RM2,241 per month, respectively.

Unsurprisingly, agricultural employment has declined over the years. In 1990, it made up 19% of Malaysia’s total workforce; by 2022, that figure had dropped to just 10%, according to the same Khazanah Research Institute report. As of 2023, 2.37 million Malaysians worked in manufacturing, compared to only 1.54 million in food production, based on statistics in an article published by Universiti Putra Malaysia.

This trend is unlikely to reverse without significant intervention. In fact, a survey by Khazanah Research Institute found that agriculture and fisheries are among the least popular career choices for Malaysian youth — even those with parents in these industries.

States that buck the national trends

Let’s shift our focus to the states. Five states — Melaka, Terengganu, Sabah, Kelantan, and Perlis — saw an increase in cropland between 2014 and 2023. Of these, Perlis stood out with an additional 9,935 hectares, roughly the size of two Putrajayas.

On the flip side, Sarawak experienced the steepest decline. Its cropland shrank by almost 40%, which is bigger than half the size of Penang, with paddy fields halving in size from 123,471 to 61,342 hectares over the decade. As a result, paddy production in the state dropped by half from 232,078 to 118,163 metric tonnes.

For comparison, Kedah — the nation’s largest granary that contributed over one third of Malaysia’s paddy production — maintained its paddy field area at around 212,400 hectares. But even here, production fell by almost 30%.

When it comes to overall food crop production, only Kelantan, Johor, and Melaka saw growth. In Johor, this was driven by fruits and spices, while in Kelantan, it was coconut and vegetables. The growth in Melaka is negligible as the volume is small.

Meanwhile, Pahang and Kedah recorded the largest drops, with Pahang producing 50% less vegetables in Cameron Highlands alone.

Want to explore more? Check out the two interactive charts below to compare cropland and crop production across states. For additional data, visit the DOSM website, where you’ll find extensive records dating back decades.

If the data here is not sufficient to answer your questions, head to the DOSM website where more data is available in various formats for a longer period.

How was the data collected?

All the data you’ve seen here comes from the Agriculture Census, a massive nationwide survey conducted by DOSM. It covers all groups and families throughout Malaysia that carry out agricultural activities including crops, livestock, fisheries, forestry and logging.

Why is this important? Accurate and reliable data helps the government create policies that boost agricultural productivity, tackle climate change, and improve food security. It will also help the government to tackle threats to our food security like climate change and supply chain disruptions.

Conducting the census is no small feat. Officials from DOSM and other government agencies travel across the country, conducting paper-and-pen interviews with farmers, fishermen, wholesalers, and other stakeholders involved in the agricultural sector. Data from other government agencies is also included.

Since its inception in 1963, the Agriculture Census has only been conducted four times due to the immense resources required. The latest census was completed in October 2023, nearly two decades after the previous one in 2005. DOSM is currently processing the data, so stay tuned for more insights from #BP2024!