By Majangkim Office
KOTA KINABALU: Food security is not merely a matter of sustenance; it is the beating heart of economic life. When households struggle to afford chicken, eggs, or rice, the dignity of daily living falters and the stability of society trembles.
In Sabah, where geography and dependence on imports magnify vulnerability, the path to affordable food begins with one decisive move: reducing the cost of animal feed. Feed sovereignty is the first domino.
Once it falls, the rest of the food chain—livestock, aquaculture, crops, and household baskets—aligns in cascading relief.
The Burden of Feed Costs
In poultry and livestock production, feed accounts for 60–70% of total costs. Malaysia imports much of its feed—corn and soy from distant markets—leaving Sabah exposed to global price shocks.
When feed prices rise, chicken and egg prices follow, and the household food basket grows heavier. Tackling feed costs is therefore not a peripheral issue; it is the central lever of affordability.
Sabah’s Vulnerability
Sabah’s reliance on imported feed ingredients is compounded by logistical challenges: long supply chains, port dependence, and rural distribution.
These structural realities mean that any fluctuation in global prices translates quickly into local hardship. Without intervention, food inflation erodes wages, weakens purchasing power, and undermines public trust in governance.
The Domino Effect
The metaphor of dominoes captures the cascading nature of food economics:
Feed sovereignty reduces the cost of poultry and eggs.
Livestock manure becomes affordable fertilizer, lowering crop input costs.
Biogas digestate replaces chemical fertilizers, cutting expenses for vegetables.
Aquaculture benefits from integrated feed and nutrient cycles, reducing fish prices.
Household food baskets become lighter, easing inflationary pressure and restoring dignity.
Thus, the first domino—feed—sets the chain in motion.
Policy Pathways
Sabah can act decisively through short‑term and medium‑term measures:
Tax relief on imported feed ingredients: Temporary exemptions or subsidies to ease immediate pressure.
Local feed crop expansion: Cassava, napier grass, palm kernel cake, and rice bran as substitutes.
Cooperative feed mills: Farmers bulk‑buy and process locally, reducing transport costs.
Strategic stockpiling: State reserves of feed to buffer against global volatility.
Integrated farming pilots: Linking crops, livestock, and aquaculture to recycle nutrients and reduce dependence on imports.
These measures, aligned with Malaysia’s National Agrofood Policy and Sabah’s Rural Agricultural Economic Revolution, can deliver both immediate relief and long‑term resilience.
Conclusion
Sabah’s path to affordable food is clear. Reduce the price of feed, and the rest will fall like dominoes. Feed sovereignty is the keystone of food security, the first domino in the chain of economic life.
By acting decisively—through subsidies, local feed innovation, cooperative mills, and integrated farming—Sabah can restore dignity to households, resilience to markets, and confidence to governance.
When the first domino falls, the chain of hunger breaks.
