After Sabah, Sarawak, Kedah, and Perak, Johor is the fifth-highest state in terms of individuals employed in the agricultural sector.
The Johor State Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) released a statement stating that the 2024 Agricultural Census Interim Report showed that, of the 106,038 agricultural holdings in the state, 3,578 are organisations and 102,460 are individual agricultural holdings.
“The top three Johor districts with the highest agricultural holdings are Batu Pahat (18,719 people), Segamat (17,982), and Muar (16,244).
“Despite being ranked fifth in terms of agricultural holdings, Johor is still the main contributor to the performance of the country’s agricultural sector, recording the highest sales value of RM27.3 billion, or 16.9 percent of the total value of agricultural land in Malaysia, followed by Pahang and Sabah with RM25.1 billion (15.5 percent) and Sarawak with RM23.6 billion (14.6 percent),” according to the statement.
Menteri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi launched the 2024 Agricultural Census Interim Report at Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia (UTHM) in Batu Pahat, in conjunction with the Johor Agro Carnival 2025, which was attended by the Johor State Government Exco.
Datuk Seri Norazman Ayob, Director-General of Agriculture Malaysia Datuk Nor Sam Alwi, and Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidi, Malaysia’s Chief Statistician and Commissioner for the 2024 Agricultural Census, were also in attendance.
The Johor DOSM reported that the agricultural sector’s sales value of RM27.3 billion was generated by the excellent performance of all components, namely the crop subsector (76.7 percent), followed by the livestock subsector (17.2 percent), the aquaculture subsector (3.7 percent), and the fisheries subsector (2.3 percent).
Kluang had the highest sales value by district, at RM5.0 billion, followed by Kota Tinggi (RM4.3 billion), Batu Pahat (RM3.8 billion), Segamat (RM3.68 billion), and Muar (RM2.8 billion).
Meanwhile, over 70% of agricultural holdings in Johor are owned by people aged 46 and up. Furthermore, more than half of these individuals’ agricultural holdings include at least a secondary education qualification.
“In terms of employment, Johor recorded 195,634 people directly involved in the agricultural sector, with total employment for individual agricultural holdings recorded at 141,392 people, and for agricultural holdings by organisations it was 54,242 people,” according to the statement.
The 2024 Agricultural Census provides the most recent baseline data for the Malaysian agricultural sector. The last time this census was conducted was in 2005, and it will be conducted every ten years to ensure that the data is relevant and reflects the current structure of the country’s agricultural sector.
