FGV Poised to Take Local Fragrant Rice Market to New Heights

October 14, 2021

*The use of T20 drone technology in the fields further accelerates the fertilising process as well as pest and disease control by farmers*

FGV Holdings Berhad (FGV), Malaysia’s food and agribusiness company, is poised to invigorate the country’s local fragrant rice market through its subsidiary, FGV Integrated Farming Holdings Sdn Bhd (FGVIF).

This is evident through the successful implementation of FGVIF’s Fortified Field™ Fragrant Rice (3FR) programme which optimises local fragrant rice paddy farming through smart and effective agriculture practices and technologies.

Mohd Nazrul Izam Mansor, FGV’s Group Chief Executive Officer said, the Group is targeting a 3.5 percent share of the local fragrant rice market by the end of 2025, under FGV’s household brand SAJI.

“FGV is committed to increasing the Self-Sufficiency Level (SSL) of rice in Malaysia, and this is made possible through FGV’s 3FR programme which is in support of the Large-Scale Smart Paddy Field Programme (Smart SBB) initiated by the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry (MAFI). Smart SBB is expected to help the country achieve 75 percent of the SSL of rice, as set in the 12th Malaysia Plan (RMK12),” he said.

“Our goal is for FGV’s SAJI fragrant rice to be the choice of Malaysians and the world, in the future. With FGV’s internal capabilities, resources and application of various technologies, the local fragrant rice produced is of high quality and comparable to imported rice from Thailand. Moving forward, FGV plans to expand to 10,000 hectares of fragrant paddy farming area in the next five years,” continued Mohd Nazrul.

The 3FR programme combines FGV’s expertise in enhanced field performance through Agriculture 4.0 and precision farming which are economical and sustainable. This includes mechanisation, utilising drones, use of Internet of Things (IoT) technology in farming applications, field sensors, pest and disease control, and automated transplanting machines. All by-products from the fragrant paddy farms and rice mills such as rice bran and rice husks are not wasted, and are used as components in FGV’s animal feed brand ALMA.

*The use of Kubota SPV8 for automatic rice cultivation is among the mechanisation technologies used by FGVIF in the SMART SBB programme in IADA Barat Laut, Selangor and in IADA Seberang Perak, Perak*

“Our 3FR programme is fast becoming the preferred planting system among farmers. To assist in increasing their fragrant paddy yield, FGV provides continuous support and guidance, as well as standard operating procedures (SOP) to inspect and monitor crops on a scheduled basis. We are also actively promoting the cultivation of MRQ76 fragrant paddy seeds produced by the Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute (MARDI) among our contract farmers,” explained Mohd Nazrul.

“With the economy in recovery mode, now is the time for us to ‘buy local’. When consumers purchase our fragrant rice, they are directly supporting the livelihoods of local farmers. In addition to that, farmers who grow our fragrant rice will also be able to significantly increase their income. A single fragrant paddy crop offers a return of RM1,540 per metric tonne, compared to ordinary paddy sold at RM1,200 per metric tonne,” he continued.

Marketing efforts undertaken include strengthening consumer awareness through e-commerce platform Gogopasar, as well as collaborating with relevant food industry players. To further enhance consumer access to the local supply of fragrant rice, FGV has intensified the recruitment of sales agents throughout the country as well as increase the capacity of its marketing team.

Currently, FGV’s 3FR programme is implemented in 500 hectares of granary fields in the Integrated Agricultural Development Area (IADA) Barat Laut in Selangor, and 100 hectares in IADA Seberang Perak, Perak together with 260 appointed local contract farmers.