FOOD SECURITY ISSUES: POTENTIAL AND CHALLENGES OF AGRICULTURE IN LAHAD DATU, SABAH

The agricultural sector, particularly food crops, is a vital component in guaranteeing food security since it plays a significant role in supplying food sources to the community. However, low wages and fluctuating agricultural commodity prices on the international market for agriculture made it frequently linked to poverty and due to the widespread poverty, particularly in rural regions. The Malaysian government has mobilised the industrial and service sectors as the primary drivers of the nation's GDP thus Malaysia's agriculture industry has been in decline. Food crops in the study area are facing a decrease in food planting area. Thus, there is a need to expand the food crops planting area and approaches to enhance the productivity of the food crops. Therefore, this research was carried out to determine the food security issues, the potential and challenges of agriculture in Lahad Datu, Sabah. The intended study is using a qualitative method such as observations and sources such as printed materials including journals, papers, previous studies, and others. According to the study, in order to survive, people have shifted from growing food crops to industrial crops on agricultural land. This has led to a decrease in the production of food crops due to limited food crop cultivation area.