GLOBAL 2011(LID)ANNUAL SMART PARTNERSHIP DIALOGUE , 19TH - 21ST JUNE 2011, PUTRAJAYA, MALAYSIA...
Tuesday 21st June 2011
Smart Partners, gathered in Putrajaya Malaysia for Global 2011 [LID] were set to close their Dialogue on a high note, inspired by what they had heard and seen on their visits in the field yesterday (Monday). They had dialogued the previous evening into the late hours, thinking through what they had learned from cutting edge examples of Malaysian technology in such fields as plant and crop management, soil enhancement – part of the step-change from agriculture to agri-business which is a key part of Malaysia’s GPT [Government Transformation Programme] and ETP [Economic Transformation Programme].
In talks between Malaysia’s Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and African leaders gathered for Global 2011, food production improvements were identified as vital elements on the road to sustainable development, along with advances in energy production and in the final inclusion mechanisms needed to make technological innovation Smartly accessible and relevant to the mass of citizens. A long-standing concern of LID Dialogues and the global Smart Partnership Movement has been how African countries can take advantage of new possibilities in the context of national production and international trade. Food security was associated also with issues of climate change. Smart communications and enriched citizenship were identified as additional areas that can benefit from innovative technology – these too were witnessed by Smart Partners during their ‘dialogues in the field’ yesterday.
During the Heads of State and Government private talks yesterday – held in parallel with, and in the context of the Smart Partners’ Dialogue and due to be highlighted by the Malaysian Prime Minister in today’s closing Plenary Dialogue – Malaysia’s concept of the Global Movement of Moderates [GMM] was welcomed by African leaders. Appearing particularly relevant in a year when there have been demands for change – and turbulence – in so many countries, the GMM concept is well attuned to the Smart Partnership approach of seeking sustainable, non-dogmatic ‘win-win’ solutions. S
MART PARTNERS GET TO THE ROOTS OF AGRIBUSINESS
Smart Partners begin to see for ourselves just how effectively Malaysia is beginning to reap the harvest of its efforts to use the combined potential of nature and science to transform the fortunes of its farmers and food producers.
Smart Partners split into five field groups and some of us gain valuable insight into how Malaysians are striving with particular passion to move their country from agriculture to agribusiness. These efforts are spearheaded by the Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute, or MARDI, one of the nation’s 13 major research institutes. ‘New agriculture’ is a key phrase as scientists and researchers focus on novel ways to improve crop yields and increase resistance to soil-born and airborne crop diseases. They have created more than 50 new commercial varieties of rice alone in recent years and their achievements across agriculture benefit not only the human food chain but also industrial users, including builders who use materials made from new fibre crops.
We talk with agribusiness specialists at the Universiti Putri Malaysia, who work closely alongside MARDI to transform food production and food security. Good Agricultural Practice, or GAP, are also the watchwords at the Malaysian Agrifood Corporation, MAFC, which has pioneered a process to ensure farm-fresh Malaysian produce is harvested, warehoused and distributed in a single ‘total food chain’ process that combines tailor-made chilled trucks and a massive low-temperature warehouse. As a result, small farmers across Malaysia can now send their crops fresh from the field to customers as far away as the UK – and increase their profits in the process.
Throughout the day Smart Partners press the scientists we meet for their advice and experience on a wide range of priorities including genetically-modified crops…and establish new relationships, which likewise have the potential to take root and flourish as nations develop their own ways to emulate the outstanding progress of Malaysia’s agribusiness revolution.