Muslims in Agriculture: Lessons from Indonesia and Malaysia

Brazilian agriculture sector is a good example of a non Muslim country currently laughing all the way to the bank by supplying to the Halal market. The immediately recognised factors for Brazil’s booming agriculture industry are its vast natural resources and the growing demand for emerging markets in China and the Middle East.

The market-liberalisation of 1999 allowed for greater competitiveness in the agro-food sector globally, and Brazil’s government has since been active in engaging its people in incentives such as preferential credit, tax exemption and much more.

However, much of the Islamic world shares these potentially conducive factors for agricultural progress. Demand being global and the Islamic world being gifted with its own resources, they also commonly have paternal governments.

Even in terms of demographics, although Brazil supports the massive population of up to 190 million and is able to fill in the employment gaps, populous Muslim countries do not enjoy the same advantages as that of Brazil. We may discount comparisons with countries such as Pakistan and Bangladesh that have long suffered from environmental disasters and political turbulence, but comparisons closer to home such as Indonesia and Malaysia raise interesting considerations.

As we have seen, improved technology and strategic diplomatic ties can ensure a country’s leading position in agriculture. Despite Brazil’s prodigal performance, the European Union remains among the most prominent leaders in terms of agricultural output. The European Union defeats Brazil in terms of the sector’s contribution to their overall GDP. Short of concerns of biodiversity, however, analysts are confident that Brazil will eventually threaten the EU’s present standing.

With Brazil gaining more profit, more domestic money is entering the agricultural sector that will ensure great consideration in international market dealings as well as advances in science that will no doubt increase production and quality. With the high increase in palm oil in both Malaysia and Indonesia, such an eventual progression in agriculture should also be expected. However, the two countries have very different issues.

Indonesia, being the world’s fourth most populated country in the world has a crippling employment problem. Despite the increase in oil prices, regardless of this being fuel or bio-fuel, the government either has no financial capacity to fund for further oil exploration or they have an issue of distributing profits. Leading Indonesian palm oil companies are also run by very few conglomerates and job opportunities, nor land, are pooled to the people.

Heavily in debt, Indonesia is desperate to find financial support in these areas to which they feel they can make the most immediate profit. Until advances are made in this sector, it will be difficult to see other levels in agriculture progress. Under the leadership of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono of current, the government is actively encouraging foreign partnerships to secure the oil sectors, but issues such as political stability and to certain degree terrorism, remain a hindrance.

What of Malaysia, then? Compared to Brazil, Indonesia and much of the Islamic world, Malaysia is among the most politically stable and economically healthy states, and is also empowered with all the advantages mentioned. At a modest 25 million people, Malaysia launched massive projects in agriculture and is channelling billions of dollars into universities and laboratories for agriculture. The NCER (The Northern Corridor Economic Region) and the ECER (The Eastern Corridor Economic Region) collectively will involve eight states in the Malaysian peninsular at the collective sum of approximately USD $85 billion dollars, a large stake of it specifically in the pursuit of optimising agriculture’s potential.

Not only is money being channelled into the system, there are also active government commitments into forwarding agriculture in Malaysia. As to why Malaysia remains an unthreatening presence in the world of agriculture has to do, specifically, with the exact nature of demographics in Malaysia.

Brazil is a largely rural state, with a spread-out population. The employment gaps are easily satisfied in all levels of the agriculture industry because there is a ready supply of workforce from all backgrounds. Farming at its most basic level does not require qualifications but experience. Higher-tier facets of agriculture will require scientists and efficient factories. Brazil’s population can accommodate for a lack of these features with sheer human capital.

The challenge facing Malaysia, however, is somewhat the opposite. Malaysia’s population is greatly middle-class and the government’s vigorous efforts in shaping a nation of professionals may have possibly secured this in the foreseeable future. This has also contributed to the psyche in the Malaysian polity which is urban-centric. Many youths, upon graduation see their futures fixed determinately in Kuala Lumpur or its greater area and rarely explore potentials in agriculture, which can indeed be very lucrative.

It is harder to explain the motivations behind Malaysians in rural areas, who have demonstrated an equal lack of enthusiasm in agriculture. As part of the ECER effort, a few thousand of the poorest in Malaysia’s poorest state were offered hectares of land for palm oil plantation. This was met with an impressively low response, however, with many providing the excuse that it was simply “too troublesome”. The government expressed their disappointment and have since been promoting the ECER to other states the benefits of enthusiastic involvement. Socio-political circumstances have greater place to explain such reception.

What is nevertheless significant to note is that there is no drive from the Malaysian population itself to deal in agriculture from the ground up. Brazil and Indonesia, however, have massive populations that, if not afflicted with severe destitution, constantly suffer from the threat of it. At the most atomic level, when it comes down to personalities, the best explanation as to why Brazil progresses and Malaysia does not, is in the simple rationale of motivation.