KUCHING: The Malaysian Fruit Farmers Association (MFFA) will work with the Sarawak government in developing the local smallholder fruit farming industry.
Towards this end, the association has agreed to form a coordinating committee with the Sarawak government which will be chaired by Deputy Chief Minister and Agriculture, Native Land and Regional Development Minister Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah.
MFFA committee members led by their president Hong Jok Hon, vice chairman Datuk Chong Yew Chee, Sarawak branch chairman Tho Tze Bing, and Sabah branch chairman Datuk Ting Siew Haw held a meeting with Uggah at his office here yesterday.
Also present were assistant ministers Datuk Roland Sagah Wee Inn and Dr Abdul Rahman Ismail, permanent secretary to the ministry Awang Johari Awang Mustapha and state Agriculture Department acting director Dr Alvin Chai.
Uggah told MFFA members that Sarawak was focusing on efforts to becoming a net food and food products producer by 2030.
“Toward this end, we have identified an estimated two million hectares state-wide for modern agriculture
development.
“We will conduct studies to identify the soil types and the best crop for each type of soil. We certainly welcome the participation of MFFA which could bring in their vast experiences, knowledge, and technical expertise,” he said.
He noted that MFFA also has excellent marketing ties with important big markets like China, Singapore, and Taiwan.
Uggah said there are 250,000 agriculture smallholders in the state.
“We want them to go into modern and commercial agriculture instead of producing only for their own consumption. We are now focusing on planting pineapple, banana, coconut, maize, mangosteen, rambutan, local durian and even the unique dabai.
“We plan to set up more anchor companies and Collection, Processing and Packaging Centres (CPPC) in order to buy from them, besides enhancing their modern farming knowledge,” he said.
He added there are also plans to develop three regional research centres, besides a centre of excellence.
Uggah was pleased with the enthusiasm of the MFFA members to participate and help the state become a major food basket area in the nation.
Hong said MFFA has 12 branches and many of its 2,200 members were big time fruit farmers in the country.
He said they were ready to help local smallholders with their experience in processing, manufacturing, and planting technology.
“We also have the markets in countries like China, Taiwan, Singapore, and soon the Middle East.”
Meanwhile, Datuk Chong Yew Chee who is also current president of the World Union of Agriculture Associations said Sarawak is a new frontier for fruit farming with its vast fertile land and being free from plant diseases.
He said besides being a farmer, his niche was in organising agricultural exhibitions, saying he has organised 38 exhibitions throughout China including the famous annual Canton Fair.
“We can promote Sarawak products to wider markets worldwide through such exhibitions.”
