Johor will emerge as the largest producer of organic products in Malaysia when the Bio-Desaru Food Valley project is fully developed by 2020.
Johor Mentri Besar Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman said that to-date, the state had attracted RM1.3bil investments from 23 investors involved in agriculture and agro-based activities.
About 90 per cent of the 3,642.17ha of the Bio-Desaru Food Valley had been taken up by investors, leaving another 283.27ha reserved for the development of agro-tourism activities, he noted.
“The project will generate a collective farm output of RM2bil and estimated gross national income of RM3.13bil and creating 7,600 jobs,” said Abdul Ghani at the launch of Asia Aquaculture Sdn Bhd’s shrimp hatchery and Swiflet Garden Sdn Bhd’s breeding complex.
Abdul Ghani said the farming area would be the single largest in the country dedicated for producing organic fresh produce and related activities for local and export consumptions.
Bio-Desaru Food Valley general manager Asman Shah said the integrated project would be for livestock breeding for poultry, cattle and sheep.
He added that 1,214.05ha of the entire area of Bio-Desaru Food Valley would be allocated for aquaculture activities, 121.40ha each for planting of organic pineapple, pepper and maize and 121.40ha for fodder grass for cattle and sheep.
“The project will help to reduce Malaysia’s dependency on imported food in the long term and market organic products to other parts of the world,” said Asman.
He said an Agro-Bio Industrial Park would be developed within the Senai industrial area as it had the potential to become an integrated one-stop processing centre and regional marketing and clearing house for Bio-Desaru Food Valley farm produce.
