About 186,000 foreign workers needed for agricultural sector, says deputy minister

PUTRAJAYA (Feb 15): About 186,000 foreign workers are needed to meet the demand for labour in the agricultural sector nationwide, said Deputy Agriculture and Food Security Minister Chan Foong Hin.

He said that so far, a total of 3,000 foreign workers had been registered through the Labour Recalibration Programme 2.0 to fill vacancies in the sector.

“The Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security is working with several related parties, especially the Ministry of Human Resources and the Immigration Department, to deal with the current labour shortage issue in the sector,” he said.

He told reporters this after attending the Agro-food Industry Dialogue Session and Special Briefing on the Employment of Foreign Workers in the Agricultural Sector here on Wednesday (Feb 15), which was attended by 400 industry players.

According to him, the Labour Recalibration Programme has given an alternative to the industry to hire foreign workers to help increase agricultural production.

Chan, however, said hiring foreign workers should only serve as a short-term solution to the labour shortage issue.

“Our main objective is to create enough employment opportunities and good income to attract locals, especially youths, to venture into the agricultural sector,” he said.