Enforcement Governance and Regulatory Delivery in the Agrofood Sector: An Integrated Public Value Framework

Abstract

HRMARS - Agrofood regulation has become a strategic governance priority as governments face complex and fast-moving risks involving imports, production, licensing, market conduct, product movement and public complaints. Although many reform debates concentrate on legal amendments and organisational restructuring, the effectiveness of enforcement ultimately depends on how well regulatory institutions coordinate authority, share data, target risk and measure outcomes. This is a conceptual article that develops an integrated public value framework for agrofood enforcement governance, drawing on the regulatory delivery, risk-based regulation and public value literatures. Using Malaysia as a contextual reference, the article examines how fragmented mandates, uneven enforcement powers, separate information systems and activity-based performance indicators can weaken regulatory delivery in a complex multi-agency setting. It argues that enforcement governance should move beyond case-by-case action toward a system that is clear, risk-based, digitally coordinated and outcome-oriented. The proposed framework links four dimensions: authority and accountability, risk-based enforcement, digital coordination and outcome measurement. The article contributes to business, economics and public policy debates by clarifying how strong agrofood regulation can create economic value through lower uncertainty, better compliance, reduced leakage, improved institutional productivity and stronger confidence in markets. Practical recommendations are offered for strengthening regulatory delivery in developing economies that operate complex multi-agency agrofood systems. As a conceptual contribution, the framework is intended to guide reform design and to be tested empirically in future research rather than to report new empirical findings.