Malaysia looks to invest in Indonesia's farm sector

A delegation of Malaysian officials has started a series of discussions to explore investment opportunities in the field of agriculture in Indonesia.

Malaysia's Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Minister Noh Omar had a meeting on agriculture policies with his counterpart Ir Suswono. The meeting was a prelude to the ministerial-level Joint Committee Meeting (JCM) on cooperation in the field of agriculture, scheduled this year, said Noh.

Malaysia and Indonesia signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on agriculture cooperation in Kuala Lumpur in February 2009. Areas of cooperation include the development of crops and livestock industry. Hybrid rice and corn crops would be researched on and produced, and the two countries will cooperate in livestock farm management.

Apart from benefits in terms of technology and increasing the production capacity and quality, the cooperation could also be an avenue to promote commercial activities between the private sectors of both countries, according to Noh.