PUTRAJAYA: The Malaysia Agriculture, Horticulture and Agro-Tourism Exhibition (Maha 2026) is expected to be the biggest edition yet, with organisers targeting five million visitors.
Agriculture and Food Security Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Sabu said the strong turnout at Maha 2024 and the National Farmers, Livestock Breeders and Fishermen’s Day (HPPNK) 2025 reflected growing public interest in agriculture.
“Maha 2024 attracted more than 5.5 million visitors. For 2026, we want the exhibition to be not only larger in attendance but also more impactful in terms of sales and agricultural awareness.
“The government wants agriculture to be seen not as part-time work but as a main source of income. Encouragingly, more young people are now entering the sector,” he said after attending the ministry’s monthly assembly held in conjunction with the National Month 2025 celebration on Wednesday (Aug 20).
Maha 2024, its 100th edition, drew over 5.5 million visitors to the Malaysia Agro Exposition Park Serdang (MAEPS) last September, generating RM48.5mil in direct sales. HPPNK 2025 in Sabah earlier this month recorded more than 500,000 visitors and RM15mil in sales.
Meanwhile, Agriculture and Food Security Ministry secretary-general Datuk Seri Isham Ishak said Maha would place greater emphasis on showcasing new agricultural technology, attracting quality investments, and strengthening capacity-building programmes for farmers.
“When investors bring in technology, we want them to also offer training and programmes that help farmers adopt these innovations.
“At the same time, we aim to nurture more young agropreneurs, as the average age of our farmers is currently between 60 and 63 years old,” he said.
He added that with limited agricultural land competing with urban development, it was vital to optimise available space through technology, modern practices and capacity-building.
“Climate change is another major challenge. We need to introduce technology that can improve the quality of seeds to ensure resilience and sustainability,” he said.
On another matter, Isham said Malaysia’s MyGAP and MyOrganic certifications had boosted the country’s agricultural standing, with Saudi Arabia recently making such standards mandatory for Malaysian exports.
He added that a new MyGAP standard incorporating sustainability and carbon credit elements would be announced soon, potentially raising farmers’ incomes while supporting climate goals.
