Transition of Agricultural Policies and the Emergence of Agro-food Entrepreneurs (Agropreneurs) in the Peri-Urban Areas

Amidst the growing capitalism of the national economy and industrialization, the evolving Malaysia’s agricultural policies also show the nature of labor policy. Agricultural entrepreneurship (agropreneurship) is one of the recent thrusts prioritized by the government to increase participation and incomes in the agricultural sector, in an effort to mitigate socio-economic disparities inter-economic sectors and inter-regions (urban-rural). In this study, MARDI’s entrepreneur development programs (MEDP) were taken as an example of government institutions that implement agropreneurship activities in urban and rural areas nationwide. Although the number of agropreneurs has increased driven by the recent national policies, there are concerns about the incomes and the working conditions with regard to the agropreneurs and their workforce, which left undiscussed. Case studies of five agropreneurs in a peri-urban district of Kuala Langat, Peninsular Malaysia shows that while technology adoption, as emphasized in the recent policies, have influenced their workforce hiring approach, the executives earned compensations above the local standard income, whereas the regular workers' wages barely allowed for labor force reproduction and was less competitive compared to the other industries. Although agropreneurship is becoming more attractive, narrowing the income disparities among the workforce is still a remaining challenge.