HARNESSING SUSTAINABLE NATIONAL FOOD SECURITY THROUGH INTEGRATED AGRO-TAKAFUL FRAMEWORK IN MALAYSIA

Abstract

Agriculture is a crucial economic sector to generate income and supply food resources for a country. The agriculture sector contributes 7.1 per cent (RM101.5 billion) to Malaysia Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and provides 10.5 per cent (1,566.0 thousand) jobs in 2021. However, the agro-food agriculture sector is exposed to many risks due to disasters caused by climate change, diseases, and pest attacks. It is estimated that the loss suffered by the agro-food sector is around RM90.6 million due to the flood incidents that hit several states in recent years. This condition is quite concerning because it leads to the destruction of livestock and crops, which will have an impact on farmers' income. In the long run, this may have an impact on the assurance of national food security as well as the occurrence of poverty. Until now, there hasn't been a national takaful programme that safeguards the rice agro-food sector as the primary source of food supply in Malaysia. The takaful scheme is believed to have the potential to provide social security guarantees in the form of income protection for rice farmers and further ensure the national food supply. This study employs document analysis of article journals, internet sources and policy documents to understand the current state of Malaysia’s takaful business in addressing agriculture risks. It is also important to explore the understanding of the rice farmers in Malaysia on the agriculture takaful. The novelty of this study is to explore the potential of introducing a blended financing mechanism of Islamic social finance (ISF) on the existing takaful business structure to establish a viable agriculture takaful framework based on the principle of ta’awun (cooperation) that can secure farmers' income more sustainably as well as preserve the national food security.