PETALING JAYA: For people looking to own their own plot of land, demand for a certain type of real estate is surging.

Agricultural land is growing fast in popularity among buyers in recent years, and not just among people who want to get into farming.

Real estate agents said many individual buyers have been snapping up agricultural land as an investment or as the site for a future retirement home in the countryside.

They also note that some people are buying agricultural land to serve as a safe haven in the event of a future pandemic.

Agricultural land must be used for agricultural cultivation, but owners may put up a house for themselves or their workers to dwell in.

Eric Chua Kah Hong, a real estate negotiator in Perak, said that after the Covid-19 lockdowns ended, more people who lived in the city bought land in the suburbs for a better sense of security.

“Some of the people who bought agricultural land said food is very important during a pandemic.

“They said that if another pandemic happens, they want to have somewhere they can go to live and grow their own food,” said Chua.

Some people who live in the city are planning to move to the countryside after retirement to take care of their orchards.

Chua said individuals typically buy smaller plots of agricultural land, while bigger purchases are often by businesses investing in oil palm, rubber, solar or large-scale agriculture.

Growing demand

The boom in agricultural land sales is reflected in data from the National Property Information Centre (Napic).

Napic’s figures show a 45% jump in the number of transactions for agricultural land in 2022 compared with the year before.

In 2022, RM17.86bil worth of agricultural land changed hands involving 82,040 transactions, the biggest number of transactions recorded since 2011 (84,726).

Kedah had the most agricultural property purchases in 2023, at 13,297, followed by Perak at 12,871 and Sarawak with 10,607 properties.

Among the various types of agricultural land, horticulture/vegetable land saw the biggest sales growth in 2022.

The number of horticulture/vegetable land units sold went up by 181.5% in 2022, compared with 2021.

Come prepared

Individuals looking to own their own plot should be prepared.

“Those who want to venture into the agriculture field, such as running a vegetable and durian farm, should have sufficient knowledge of the industry,” said Chua.

Farming is labour intensive, and access to land in the interior often involves travelling through rough terrain.

Owners must also be aware that their land may not have access to basic amenities such as electricity or running water, and that they could face the possibility of encountering wild animals such as snakes.

Chua also said there was a current trend of agriculture projects taking off in places such as Ipoh Country Park in Gopeng.

“Every lot here has water and electricity supply, and there is a tarmac road to each piece of land.

“Many people are buying here in the past two years because the size of each plot, which is one acre, is adequate for retirement purposes.”

Those planning to relocate to the countryside after retirement should also be aware that it will involve a lifestyle change.

“A person used to going shopping in a city every day must be aware there will be no shopping in the countryside,” said Chua.

He said those with acute diseases should also avoid staying on this type of land as communication and access can be issues.

“The owners’ children may live in the city and in the case of an emergency, it may take some time to reach them.

“Access to medical care in rural areas may not be as comprehensive as in the city.”

Sarawak-based real estate negotiator Melvin Chong said he is also seeing an increasing trend of people buying agricultural land in the state.

“People here buy agricultural land for self-use, plantation, fish farming, building a retirement home or for storage facilities,” he said.

He advised those considering buying agriculture land to take their time and do proper research.

“People should consider whether there is any legal road access, electricity supply and water connection,” he said.

Conveyancing lawyer Siti Munira Abdul Rahman said a house or building built on agricultural land has to follow specific requirements.

“The size of the house cannot be more than one-fifth of the total land area or two hectares, whichever is lower.

“Buildings that can be developed on this land are also only for the owners and workers to live in,” she said.

She also cautioned buyers of attempts to sell small agricultural land for the purpose of building homes.

“This is also known as lidi (skewer) lots where small and narrow plots of land are sold to buyers with the promise that they can build on them.

“This is illegal and the buyer’s name would not be registered in the land grant, meaning they do not have ownership over the land so the land cannot be pawned or sold and a building or home cannot be built on the land.

“When the buyer dies, the land cannot be inherited as the land purchase is not recognised,” she said.

She said such sales of agricultural land violate the National Land Code 1965, the Town and Country Planning Act 1976 and the Street, Drainage and Building Act 1974.