BY P PREM KUMAR / Pic By BERNAMA

Beijing • Malaysia is keen to learn ways to develop the local agricultural sector from China, said Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

He said China’s agricultural sector has grown over the years, with continuous development to fulfil the needs of its 1.4 billion population.

He said while China can feed its large population just by relying on local productions, Malaysia, on the other hand, is still importing rice from neighbours.

“We can learn from them as according to President Xi Jinping, China’s agricultural production is enough to feed the 1.4 billion people.

“Malaysia, with a population of 30 million, still needs imported rice from neighbours,” he told a press conference in Beijing yesterday, concluding his five-day working visit to the republic since last Friday.

Innovation in the agricultural sector will also enable Malaysian farmers, especially paddy growers, to gain decent income.

“Paddy growers in Malaysia are not getting profit from their plantation because of lack of innovation and new ideas,” he added.

Dr Mahathir, who visited the National Agricultural Science and Technology Innovation Park yesterday, said he was impressed with the innovations implemented in the Chinese agricultural sector.

“I was impressed with their ability to do multi-level plantation on fields or residential properties…and these do not rely on direct sunlight,” he added.

Besides agriculture, Dr Mahathir said Malaysia is also keen to study innovations introduced in China’s automotive, radio control and information technology sectors — particularly in the e-commerce segment.

“We will be sending our experts to China to study and bring back ideas which can be implemented in Malaysia,” he added.