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Agriculture officer salary in Malaysia

Gaji Pegawai PertanianGaji Penolong Pegawai Pertanian

What the Department of Agriculture and other agencies pay new agriculture officers at each entry level under the 2026 public-service pay scale, with the allowances set by the JPA circular.

MalaysiaSSPA pay scale · Budget 2026DOSM Salaries & WagesRM per monthUpdated 20 Oct 2026
Government pay scaleMaximum basic / month
Entry, diplomaAssistant agriculture officer, G5RM6,620Entry, degreeAgriculture officer, G9RM11,110PromotionGrade 10RM12,150SeniorGrade 12RM13,540SeniorGrade 14RM15,360
Minimum to maximum basicScale RM0 to RM16kSSPA pay scale, Budget 2026
Starting basicRM2,580RM30,960 a yearG9, honours degree in a related fieldSee the pay breakdown →With allowancesRM3,480RM41,760 a yearBasic plus RM900 fixed allowances, Kuala LumpurSee the pay breakdown →With a diplomaRM1,650RM19,800 a yearG5, RM2,460 with allowancesSee every entry level →Top of grade 9RM11,110RM133,320 a yearMaximum basic at G9See the pay scale →
At a glance

Agriculture officer salary in Malaysia

What the job is: Farming, forestry and fisheries advisers study and provide assistance and advice on farm, forestry and fisheries management, including cultivation, fertilization, harvesting, soil erosion and composition, disease prevention, nutrition, crop rotation and marketing. ILO ISCO-08, 2132 Farming, Forestry and Fisheries Advisers

  • Agriculture officer (Pegawai Pertanian, G9): RM2,580 basic a month (honours degree in a related field), up to RM2,690 with higher qualifications.
  • With fixed allowances in Kuala Lumpur: RM3,480 a month at G9.
  • Assistant agriculture officer (G5): RM1,650 basic, RM2,460 with allowances.
  • Pay scale: grade 9 runs from RM2,250 to RM11,110, rising RM225 a year.

What a new agriculture officer earns

An agriculture officer at G9 starts on RM2,580 basic, plus RM900 in fixed allowances in Kuala Lumpur: RM3,480 a month. Higher qualifications start higher.

Grade G9, from the SPA service scheme and the JPA allowance circular. The starting point depends on the qualification.

Qualification or pay itemGrade G9RM a month
Honours degree in agriculture, chemistry, biochemistry, horticulture, biotechnology, agribusiness, food technology or a related scienceStarting basic2,580
Degree in agricultural engineeringStarting basic2,690
Fixed allowances, Kawasan AHousing (ITP) RM300, public service (ITKA) RM300, cost of living (BISH) RM300900
Total fixed pay at the start, honours degree in a related fieldBasic plus fixed allowances, Kawasan A3,480

Sources: SPA scheme page for grade G9; JPA Pekeliling Perkhidmatan 1/2024, Lampiran E. BISH is lower outside Kawasan A. Totals computed by Foundific.

What it means
  • A year at the start: RM3,480 × 12 = RM41,760.
  • Allowances counted here are the fixed ones in the JPA circular. Any allowance tied to a particular post is not included.
  • Engineering option: officers appointed in the agricultural engineering option also receive the critical-service allowance (BIPK), RM165 at G9 and RM150 at G5. It is not included above.

How to become a agriculture officer

Agriculture officers enter at G5 and G9, depending on the qualification.

Entry levelQualificationStarting basic, RMWith allowances, RM
Assistant agriculture officer (Penolong Pegawai Pertanian, G5)Agriculture certificate1,6502,460
Assistant agriculture officer (Penolong Pegawai Pertanian, G5)Diploma in agriculture, horticulture, biotechnology, agribusiness, food production or agrotechnology1,9742,784
Assistant agriculture officer (Penolong Pegawai Pertanian, G5)Diploma in agricultural engineering2,0552,865
Agriculture officer (Pegawai Pertanian, G9)Honours degree in agriculture, chemistry, biochemistry, horticulture, biotechnology, agribusiness, food technology or a related science2,5803,480
Agriculture officer (Pegawai Pertanian, G9)Degree in agricultural engineering2,6903,590

Source: SPA scheme pages. Allowances from the JPA circular, Kawasan A: G5 RM810, G9 RM900. Totals computed by Foundific.

What it means
  • Bahasa Melayu: every route needs a credit in Bahasa Melayu at SPM or SVM.

How pay grows on the government scale

Grade 9 pay rises RM225 a year, from RM2,250 up to RM11,110. Promotion to a higher grade moves an officer onto a higher range.

Minimum and maximum monthly basic salary for each SSPA grade, 2026.

GradeWhoMinimumMaximumYearly increment
5Assistant agriculture officer, entry with a diploma1,6506,620145
9Agriculture officer, entry with a degree2,25011,110225
10Promotion grade3,84012,150250
12Promotion grade5,53013,540270
14Promotion grade6,56015,360320

Source: Ministry of Finance, Budget 2026 establishment list, Lampiran A: SSPA salary codes and minimum-maximum salaries (page A-1). Basic salary only.

What it means
  • Increments only: at RM225 a year, an officer starting at RM2,580 would need about 38 yearly increments to reach RM11,110.

Pay after 5, 10 and 20 years

Starting at RM2,580 at grade 9, with the RM225 yearly increment and no promotion. The grade maximum, RM11,110, is reached after about 38 years.

Years in gradeBasic, RM a monthWith fixed allowances, RM a monthFixed pay, RM a year
At the start2,5803,48041,760
After 5 years3,7054,60555,260
After 10 years4,8305,73068,760
After 20 years7,0807,98095,760

Foundific calculation from the Budget 2026 SSPA scale, with fixed allowances at the Kawasan A rate, which do not rise with increments. Promotion, special payments and allowance changes are not included.

Compared with Malaysian pay overall

A new agriculture officer's fixed pay, RM3,480, is above the national median of RM2,940. The agriculture industry median, RM1,698, covers workers of all grades and years.

FigureSourceRM a month
New agriculture officer, G9, basic plus fixed allowances, Kuala LumpurSPA and JPA, 20263,480
Median salary, agriculture industryDOSM, 20241,698
Median salary, all Malaysian citizensDOSM, 20252,940
Median salary, employed degree holders of all agesDOSM, 20245,724
  • Industry median covers all employees in the industry, most of them experienced.
  • Measures differ: DOSM figures cover all paid employees and all ages. The government figure is one fixed pay point. Use them for scale, not as a direct comparison.
  • Your own pay: place it on this scale, the DOSM figures and court awards with the Malaysia salary comparison.

Agriculture officers outside government

No official source publishes agriculture officer pay outside government.

  • DOSM publishes salaries by state, sector and skill level, but not by job title.
  • Private surveys and job ads use different measures and samples, so their figures are not mixed into the tables here.

Data sources and coverage

Government pay for agriculture officers is exact. No official source covers private-sector pay for the job.

SourceWhat it givesStrength
SPA service schemes G5, G9Starting basic pay by qualificationStrong: official and current
Budget 2026, SSPA pay scaleMinimum, maximum and yearly increment for every gradeStrong: official and current
JPA SSPA circular, Lampiran EFixed allowances by grade and areaStrong: official
DOSM Salaries & Wages Survey 2024 and 2025Industry and national mediansWeak for one job title
  • What a payslip shows is basic plus allowances plus any shift, on-call or overtime pay, so it can be higher than the fixed figures here.

Is agriculture officer work affected by AI?

The International Labour Organization rates farming, forestry and fisheries advisers Not exposed for exposure to generative AI. Its scores cover the job worldwide, so they apply in Malaysia too.

Based on the International Labour Organization's 2025 index, which scores every core task of a job from 0 (AI cannot help) to 1 (AI could do nearly all of it).

Agriculture officer
Not exposedAI exposure
Not exposedVery high

AI can do very little of this job. Most tasks are hands-on or face to face.

  • Most exposed taskPreparing scientific reports and conducting advisory…
  • Least exposed taskStudying fish migration, growth, feeding and spawning
  • In numbersAI could do a large part of 1 of its 12 main tasks.
Agriculture officerISCO 2132
Not exposedexposure to generative AI
  1. Not exposed
  2. Minimal
  3. Some
  4. Moderate
  5. High
  6. Very high

Scored as ILO group 2132 Farming, forestry and fisheries advisers. Average task score 0.28, higher than 54% of the 427 jobs the ILO scored.

Seven factors
FactorAgriculture officer
1Exposure levelThe ILO's rating for the whole job, from not exposed up to very high.Not exposed
2Average task scoreHow much of each core task generative AI could do, averaged. 0 means none, 1 means nearly all.0.28 higher than 54% of jobs
3Tasks AI could do much ofTasks scoring 0.5 or more. These are the parts of the job most likely to change.1 of 12
4Hands-on or people tasksTasks scoring under 0.25: physical, in-person or judgement work that AI barely touches.5 of 12
5How even the exposure isEven means AI touches most tasks a little. Uneven means a few tasks are exposed and the rest are not.Mixed (0.10)
6Most exposed taskWhere AI tools are likely to show up first.Preparing scientific reports and conducting advisory… 0.54
7Least exposed taskThe task AI can help with least.Studying fish migration, growth, feeding and spawning and… 0.14
Most and least exposed tasks
Agriculture officer
Most exposed tasks
  • 0.54Preparing scientific reports and conducting advisory information sessions and…
  • 0.36Developing procedures and techniques for solving agricultural problems and…
  • 0.34Advising on techniques for improving the production of crops, livestock and…
Least exposed tasks
  • 0.14Studying fish migration, growth, feeding and spawning and devising methods of…
  • 0.17Studying the propagation and culture of forest trees, methods for improving…
  • 0.20Collecting and analysing data and samples related to produce, feed, soil…
Compared with our other Malaysian guides
JobExposureAvg task score
Administrative assistantVery high0.59
AccountantHigh0.51
IT officerModerate0.49
Computer technicianModerate0.47
PTD officerMinimal0.42
PsychologistSome0.39
ArchitectMinimal0.37
Legal officerMinimal0.36
PharmacistMinimal0.33
Customs officerMinimal0.32
EngineerNot exposed0.30
TeacherNot exposed0.30
DoctorNot exposed0.29
Agriculture officerNot exposed0.28
PhysiotherapistMinimal0.28
Assistant engineerNot exposed0.28
Medical assistantNot exposed0.23
RadiographerNot exposed0.22
NurseMinimal0.22
FirefighterNot exposed0.18
DentistNot exposed0.15
Prison officerNot exposed0.14
Source: ILO Working Paper 140, Generative AI and Jobs: A Refined Global Index of Occupational Exposure (Gmyrek et al., 2025), CC BY 4.0. Malaysian jobs are matched to ILO groups by their ISCO-08 code; MASCO follows ISCO-08 at four digits. The ILO scores international job groups, not Malaysian titles. How we read the AI scores.
What it means
  • What exposure measures: how much of the work AI could do or speed up. It does not measure job cuts.

What the pay figures include

Every figure is monthly basic pay or fixed allowances, before deductions.

MeasureIncludesExcludes
Basic salaryGaji pokok on the SSPA scaleAllowances, shift, on-call and overtime pay, special payments
Fixed allowancesITP, BISH, ITKA or ITK, and BIPK as advertised for the postShift, on-call and overtime pay
DOSM salaryMonthly salaries and wages of paid employeesSelf-employed and unpaid family workers

Questions

What is the agriculture officer salary in Malaysia?

A new government agriculture officer starts on RM2,580 basic a month (G9, honours degree in a related field). With fixed allowances in Kuala Lumpur the total is RM3,480 a month, in 2026.

What is the agriculture officer salary per year in Malaysia?

RM3,480 a month is RM41,760 a year in fixed pay, before any shift, on-call or overtime pay and before the special payments the government announces each year.

How does a government agriculture officer's pay grow with years in service?

On the yearly increment alone, basic pay at grade 9 rises RM225 a year: from RM2,580 to about RM3,705 after 5 years and RM4,830 after 10, before any promotion. Foundific calculation from the Budget 2026 scale.

What is the highest agriculture officer salary in government?

Grade 9 runs from RM2,250 to RM11,110 in basic pay. The highest grade in this guide, 14, has a maximum of RM15,360 a month.

How much does a agriculture officer earn in a private company?

No official source publishes agriculture officer pay outside government.

What is the difference between G5 and G9 for agriculture officers?

G5 (assistant agriculture officer) is the diploma entry and starts at RM1,650 basic. G9 (agriculture officer) is the degree entry and starts at RM2,580. The G9 scale runs to RM11,110, against RM6,620 at G5.

Where do these figures come from?

Starting pay is from the SPA service scheme pages, the pay scale from the Budget 2026 establishment list, and allowances from the JPA SSPA circular. Private-sector context is from DOSM and Industrial Court awards.

MalaysiaMalaysia salary overviewPay by state, sector and skill MalaysiaEngineer salary in MalaysiaGovernment grades, starting pay and allowancesRM2,690 starting basic MalaysiaAssistant engineer salary in MalaysiaGovernment grades, starting pay and allowancesRM1,731 starting basic MalaysiaTeacher salary in MalaysiaGovernment grades, starting pay and allowancesRM2,360 starting basic

Sources

SPA service schemes, Ministry of Finance Budget 2026, JPA SSPA circular, DOSM
  1. Suruhanjaya Perkhidmatan Awam, Syarat Permohonan: Penolong Pegawai Pertanian Gred G5.
  2. Suruhanjaya Perkhidmatan Awam, Syarat Permohonan: Pegawai Pertanian Gred G9.
  3. Ministry of Finance, Budget 2026 establishment list, Lampiran A. SSPA minimum-maximum salaries, page A-1.
  4. JPA, Pekeliling Perkhidmatan Bil. 1/2024 (SSPA), Lampiran E: ITP, ITKA and BISH by grade and area.
  5. DOSM, Salaries & Wages Survey Report 2025 and the 2024 report.