Malaysia loses over 8,000 hectares of rice fields, sparking food-security worries
Malaysia’s padi cultivation fell by 8,486 ha between 2020 and 2025, prompting concerns about rice self-sufficiency.
In a recent parliamentary briefing, Deputy Agriculture and Food Security Minister Chan Foong Hin disclosed that Malaysia’s padi cultivation area shrank by 8,486 ha from 2020 to 2025. The reduction includes 5,676 ha within designated rice-granary zones and 2,810 ha outside those zones. The minister emphasized that the government is taking the decline seriously as the nation seeks to raise its rice self-sufficiency, which was recorded at 54.3 percent in 2025.
The matter was raised by MP Idris Ahmad, who highlighted the conversion of rice fields to other crops, noting a drop in Kerian, Perak, from 24,000 ha to 17,000 ha between 2020 and 2024. Officials warned that continued loss could undermine Malaysia’s food security. The discussion took place in the Dewan Rakyat, reflecting growing parliamentary scrutiny of agricultural land use.
Why it matters
A shrinking rice-growing area could increase Malaysia’s reliance on imports and affect national food security.
How the sides frame it
HIGH AGREEMENTBoth camps report the same loss of rice fields, but centrist coverage frames the story around a government proposal to gazette land to protect paddy areas, while right-leaning coverage highlights the decline’s impact on food security and self-sufficiency targets.
CENTER
Centrist coverage frames the story as a proactive government plan to gazette over 200,000 ha to protect rice bowl areas and halt further shrinkage.
RIGHT
Right-leaning coverage frames the story as a warning about the loss of rice fields threatening Malaysia’s food security and self-sufficiency goals.
The right emphasises
- paddy cultivation area shrank by 8,486 ha from 2020 to 2025
- government is taking the decline seriously as the nation seeks to raise rice self-sufficiency to 54.3 percent
- continued loss could undermine Malaysia’s food security
In this story
