Nafas can help guarantee supply of broiler chicken in country - Mohamad

MUAR - The Agriculture and Food Security Ministry (KPKM) is confident that the involvement of the National Farmers’ Organisation (Nafas) in the chicken value chain, through its subsidiary Medan Juara Sdn Bhd (MJSB), can help to guarantee the country’s food security in broiler supply.

Its Minister, Datuk Seri Mohamad Sabu said that although the amount is not large, it is seen to be helpful for small entrepreneurs in the sector.

"Nafas continues to be involved in the broiler chicken industry. The price of chicken has now started to stabilise and even if it rises, it does not reach the ceiling price. So, I am grateful to all parties involved, the large breeders and small breeders, who have brought the price of chicken and eggs under control.

"We want Nafas, the Board of Farmers’ Organisations (LPP) and the Federal Agricultural Marketing Board (Fama) to work hand in hand to ensure food security in the future,” he said after attending the ministry’s Farmers’ Townhall Programme with South Zone Farmer Leaders here today.

Also present were LPP chairman Datuk Mahfuz Omar, Nafas Board chairman Zamri Yaakob, LPP director-general Datuk Azulita Salim and Nafas general manager Muhammad Faris Arriffin.

Earlier, Sabu handed over an allocation of RM2.35 million from LPP to Nafas for the project to upgrade the Hatchery Complex building operated by MJSB.

MJSB, which breeds broiler day-old chicks (DOC), is the main joint venture company of Nafas, the Johor State Farmers’ Association and several other state farmers’ associations.

Meanwhile, Zamri, in his speech, expressed his appreciation for the allocation given through the Farmers’ Organisation Satellite Farm Empowerment programme, under the 2023 Agrofood Mechanisation and Automation programme.

He said work on the Hatchery Complex, which started in July 2023 and is expected to be completed by the end of this year, is to upgrade it into a more modern and systematic building to produce quality broiler chicks and maintain bio-security.

"The current capacity for the production of MJSB broiler chicks is 500,000 per month or equivalent to six million per year. MJSB aims to increase production to seven million by 2025 in stages.

"Thus, the upgrade of the Hatchery Complex is an important step to ensure that higher production can be achieved in the coming years,” he said.

Zamri said the MJSB Breeding Chicken Farm started operating in 1995 with only two indoor chicken coops and two units of incubation and hatchery machines before it was increased to 10 coops with a capacity of 10,000 (parent stock) birds per coop. - BERNAMA