Scrutinising the influence of the performance of Malaysia agricultural sector on energy use

Abstract

Most sectors rely on energy as input to produce output. Though the use of energy by the agriculture sector is not as high as in other sectors, it is still necessary to study the links between the two. This is vital as there are only few studies that illustrate the bonds between them in Malaysia. This study resorts to input-output analysis to examine the link between the two sectors and assess their economic sustainability using input-output data for 1991 to 2005 period. This analysis and assessment show the existence of linkages between agriculture and energy sectors. However, the linkage is not strong for the named period. Among the three energy subsectors, the agriculture sector relies heavily on inputs from ‘petrol and coal industries’ as compared to the other two subsectors. As such, the current study introduces some policy implications to further diversify the sources of energy use and to promote the most efficient utilisation of energy in agriculture sector.