Also present are Dato' Ahmad Suaidi Abdul Rahim, Dato’ Mohd Zaki Mahyuddin, State Exco Members, and heads of state and federal departments.

IPOH, 22 May 2025 – The Perak State Government, through the Northern Corridor Economic Region (NCER) in collaboration with the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA), has realised an investment totalling RM1.41 billion for 2024 and successfully created nearly 2,500 new job opportunities in Perak.

According to a media statement by Northern Corridor Implementation Authority (NCIA) Chief Executive Dato’ Mohamad Haris Kader Sultan, this success was driven by the NCER Strategic Development Plan 2024-2030, which focuses on three main sectors: advanced services, high-value manufacturing and modern agriculture.

“One of the main initiatives is the NCER Agro-Food Hub Project, which aims to transform the agriculture sector in Perak via private investment and the use of digital technology and artificial intelligence (AI).

This project is expected to increase participants' income by 20% to 25% through stable price management, more secure market access, and cost savings on inputs. Additionally, post-harvest losses are expected to decrease by up to 50% with the implementation of an integrated logistics system and modern processing centres,” he said.

In his speech, Perak Chief Minister Dato’ Seri Saarani Mohamad, emphasised that this initiative aligns with the Perak Sejahtera 2030 agenda and the 13th Malaysia Plan (RMK-13), particularly in strengthening food security and transforming the agricultural sector as a new economic pillar.

"This effort can also contribute to reducing the country's dependence on food imports. For example, Malaysia imported vegetables worth around RM6.3 billion in 2023. In August 2024 alone, the value of vegetable and fruit imports from the Southeast Asian region to Malaysia reached RM178.2 million, a figure that clearly shows the urgent need to seriously increase domestic production," he said at the Strategic Collaboration Ceremony for the Advancement of the NCER Agro-Food Hub Project at Hotel Casuarina@Meru here.

He added that this project also opens up new job opportunities in the fields of agrotechnology, logistics and food processing.

"Data shows that between 2015 and 2021, the demand for skilled workers in the agriculture sector increased by 4.6%, while reliance on unskilled labour decreased by 34%.

"The Perak State Government encourages NCER to leverage Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions and collaborate with the Food Security Academy, being developed by Universiti Sultan Azlan Shah (USAS), to produce a skilled workforce in the high-tech agriculture industry," he said.

Also present were State Secretary Dato' Ahmad Suaidi Abdul Rahim, State Financial Officer Dato’ Mohd Zaki Mahyuddin, State Exco Members, and heads of state and federal departments.

Source : Corporate, SUK Perak.