by Theleaders | September 7, 2026 1:37 pm
KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 7 — As Malaysia’s paddy farmers grapple with delays in subsidised fertiliser supplies, one of the country’s key agricultural organisations is undergoing a major overhaul after years of financial losses.
Pertubuhan Peladang Kebangsaan (Nafas) – the national farmers’ organisation that supports agricultural cooperatives and distributes farm inputs – is shutting nine of its 16 subsidiaries and refocusing on agricultural inputs, its core business which accounts for more than 95 per cent of its revenue.
The restructuring comes as the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission investigates delays in the distribution of supplementary compound fertiliser affecting about 38,000 paddy farmers in Kedah’s Muda Agricultural Development Authority area.
Nafas itself is not implicated in that investigation, but its renewed focus on agricultural inputs puts the organisation at the centre of a business that is critical to farmers and heavily dependent on government support.
Nafas general manager Muhammad Faris Arriffin told Berita Harian that the organisation’s restructuring was driven by the financial position it inherited when its current management took over in March 2023.
“When we took over the leadership of Nafas in March 2023, Nafas recorded net losses and had debts of more than RM400 million in the 2022 financial year,” he was quoted as saying.
The turnaround strategy involves closing nine subsidiaries involved in non-core businesses and concentrating resources on areas that can deliver greater value to farmer members and the government.
Nafas’s agricultural-input business includes the distribution of fertiliser and other farm supplies, with government fertiliser contracts worth up to RM2 billion a year.
The organisation’s six remaining subsidiaries are focused on its core businesses, with four involved in fertiliser, pesticides and other agricultural inputs, while two are in the palm oil industry.
Source URL: https://theleaders-online.com/national-farmers-group-cleans-house-shuts-nine-subsidiaries-as-scrutiny-grows-over-malaysian-farm-support/
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