Malaysia launches KENDIRI campaign to boost domestic food security

Malaysia's Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security has launched the ‘Kebun di Rumah Sendiri’ (KENDIRI) campaign to empower citizens through domestic agriculture. The initiative encourages households to voluntarily grow their own food, such as vegetables and herbs, to serve as a resilient supplementary food source.

Agriculture Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Sabu stated that the campaign aims to mitigate the impact of potential food supply disruptions and rising prices caused by global geopolitical uncertainties. He noted that reliance on imported agricultural inputs, such as urea and phosphate fertilizers, makes the local food supply vulnerable to international conflicts.

The KENDIRI philosophy focuses on the principle of ‘using the space we have’ to transform residential areas into domestic ecosystems providing fresh, safe, and pesticide-free produce. This follows previous government efforts, including the Urban Agriculture Program, which has seen RM114 million in allocations benefiting over 45,000 community gardens and approximately 251,510 participants nationwide.