CONCEPTUALISING RESILIENCE LIVELIHOOD STRATEGIES OF PADDY FARMERS TOWARDS MALAYSIA NATIONAL FOOD SECURITY AGENDA

Abstract

The paddy production in Malaysia is characterised as small-scale agriculture, with modest plots of less than 2 ha and approximately 194,000 farmers employed. Majority of these farmers primarily rely on low-income agricultural production. This situation was exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic in the first quarter of 2020, resulting in a 3.11% reduction (17.03 million tonnes) in the overall agricultural output across Southeast Asia. Rural communities are recognised as vulnerable and must adapt to these sudden changes. Despite the vulnerability and shocks experienced by rural communities, especially paddy farmers, the resilience of sustainable livelihood for staple food is the main issue to be taken into consideration. Sustainable livelihoods, which are closely related to rural development communities, serve as the primary force behind the preservation of the economic well-being in rural areas. The primary concern is the lack of imperative strategies to empower the paddy farmers and key stakeholders in the staple food ecosystem in facing uncertainties and shocks. The Sustainable Livelihood Framework has been adopted since 1992 in several countries and international organisations to eradicate poverty. However, this framework raised an issue as a generic concept and required further enhancement to visualise the response to uncertainties and shocks. The framework’s adaptability to climatic and non-climatic food insecurity is dependent on the adaptation strategies that are based on socioeconomic and cultural factors, such as household composition, gender, household asset distribution and external instructions.