The GeoTanaman system has been developed by the Agriculture Department since 2022 as a long-term measure to plan food crop production and address the issue of agricultural product dumping.
Agriculture Department director-general Datuk Zahimi Hassan said the system allows farmers to plan the scheduling of food crops according to demand and supply, as well as helping to reduce the dumping of produce, by expanding the market space through e-commerce market matching via direct transactions with wholesalers.
The department was aware of reports about farmers in Lojing, Kelantan, and Cameron Highlands, Pahang, who were forced to throw away thousands of tonnes of unsold vegetables, due to allegations of dumping of imported vegetable supplies, Zahimi said in a statement.
The reports claimed that the problem occurred when local vegetable production increased after the end of the monsoon season, but imported supplies were allegedly still being brought into the country.
Agriculture and Food Security Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Sabu was previously reported to have said that the issue of vegetable dumping will be investigated by his ministry, in an effort to implement effective solutions.
Zahimi said that parties involved in the agrofood industry, especially farmers, wholesalers and agricultural input suppliers, are requested to register, free of charge, to join the GeoTanaman system at https://geotanaman.doa.gov.my.
“It is to ensure the availability of agricultural inputs; food crop production information can be provided in real-time, and subsequently be able to address the issue of crop dumping,” he said.
Zahimi said that farmers are also advised to implement good agricultural practices by applying for the Malaysian Good Agricultural Practice (myGAP) certification scheme, and plan planting schedules according to market requirements to ensure that quality crops which meet market requirements can be produced.
Source: BERNAMA News Agency
