The agriculture sector remains a significant development factor in Malaysia even though its share to the nation\u2019s GDP has shrunk pronouncedly from some 30% in the 1970s to only 7% in 2013. Such statistics may not, however, reflect the true significance of the Malaysian agricultural economy. While the agricultural sector of the past decades was mainly associated with the production of raw commodities and primary processing activities, its current importance maybe seen in terms of the sector\u2019s contribution to the total economy, via its inter-sectoral linkages and multi-functional roles. This paper highlights a number of issues that have bearings on the future roles of the agricultural economy in Malaysia. These include the emerging notion of agricultural multi-functionality, efficient allocation of land to various agricultural sub-sectors, deforestation and oil palm expansion, shortages of domestic labor, food-fuel dilemma, and extensive use of agrochemicals. Policy implications and\/or suggestions for future research are deliberated for each issue.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"template":"","tags":[1066,1067,1068,1069],"jel-code":[],"article-type":[1331],"class_list":["entry","author-jem","post-5529","article","type-article","status-publish","tag-malaysian-agricultural-economy","tag-malaysian-agricultural-issues","tag-multi-roles-of-agriculture","tag-sustainable-agricultural-development","article-type-research-note"],"yoast_head":"\n