Malaysia International Trade and Exhibition Centre (MITEC), in line with the Centre’s ongoing Environmental, Social and Corporate (ESG) effort to tackle food security and mitigate environmental challenges, will be hosting the first annual Asia Smart Farming (ASF) Conference and Exhibition 2023.
The event will be held at MITEC from October 3-6, 2023, and MY Events and ABS Greentech will be event partners.
In its recent hosting of Diplomatic Representatives for the event, MITEC reaffirmed its commitment to reducing environmental impact and attaining the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) with the #myWorld Programme, which has been in effect since 2018.
The partnership between MITEC and relevant stakeholders aims to the bridge gap in achieving SDG 2, End Hunger by ensuring food security and promoting sustainable agriculture through smart farming practices.
MITEC’s CEO, Mala Dorasamy, said: “The MoU signed with ABS Greentech and MITEC in March sets forth as the joint support to accelerate the growth of this initiative to improve the carbon footprint in the industry. There has been escalating global utilisation of pesticides and fertilisers, which has negative effects on the ecosystem components. This highlights the urgent need for sustainable and environmentally conscious practices of smart farming.”
The negative impacts of pesticide-reliant agriculture have become more apparent when the use of chemicals in agriculture is increasing twice as fast as food production.
According to Food and Agriculture Organization statistics, the value of pesticide imports has increased by almost 300 per cent.
R M Ravichandar S Ratnam, group CEO of ABS Greentech said: “In today’s world, ecological-based farming can offer a long-term answer for producing sufficient food for the country that is of a high quality and both safe for humans and the environment. Therefore, our primary goal is to promote the adoption of an innovative holistic Integrated Pest Management (IPM) approach as an alternative method for local farmers to reduce their reliance on pesticides”.
ABS Greentech, in collaboration with the Department of Agriculture and other private organisations, has been implementing the new holistic IPM and integrating new technologies to cultivate pesticide-free vegetables in the tropical lowlands of Malaysia. The revolutionary No-Self AND (As Nature Does) and microalgae biofertilisers are examples of the latest ecologically-based technologies that will be promoted and implemented in Malaysia.
The Centre is committed to its ESG efforts to assist in promoting a strategic partnership with ABS Greentech to highlight the potential of sustainable farming practices and demonstrate the significance of global cooperation in advancing agricultural innovation to address food security and mitigate environmental challenges.
