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Farmers urged to plant pepper the organic way

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Tuai Rumah Enchana (right) presenting a memento to Datuk Joseph Salang Gandum.

SIBU: Farmers should consider planting pepper the organic way as it would be premium produce commanding even higher market price.

Julau Member of Parliament Datuk Joseph Salang Gandum said this when attending a meet-the-people session at Rumah Enchana Ugak in Entaih Entabai here on Friday.

Salang later also held similar sessions at Rumah Sumping Meru.

According to Salang, organic pepper produced without using any chemical fertilizer and pesticide which can leave traces of residue.

“The processing method from harvesting to drying is meticulously done to free the final product of any contaminants like sand, skin or dust,” he said.

Salang said if farmers would go these extra efforts they would help to gain more international recognition for Sarawak pepper.

He added the organic pepper was an alternative to the usual black or white pepper and catering to contemporary demand in the world market.
On the current low price of pepper in the market he urged farmers not to be discouraged to the t of abandoning their farms.

He also urged them not to sell off all their stock in one go when the price improved but wait for the price to climb even higher.

Salang who is a planter himself said he had been informed by the Malaysian Pepper Board that it was currently doing more researches to upgrade pepper planting.

“It is studying even better processing methods besides trying out composite posts in the planting to replace the traditional Belian wood which are in short supply now,” he said.

He added he had also told the board to stop people from branding pepper berries imported from Vietnam, Indonesia or Southern China which were then processed locally as Sarawak Pepper.

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