SIBU: The Ministry of Plantation Industries and Commodities is looking into ways to assist pepper smallholders, particularly those in Sarawak, to boost production.
This is to generate enough income for them to climb out of the poverty line besides ensuring the premium quality of Sarawak pepper.
Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof said through the Malaysian Pepper Board (MPB), the income of some 38,134 pepper smallholders needs to be uplifted in the country.
There are a total of 8,013 hectares of pepper farms out of which 90 per cent or 7,816 hectares are from Sarawak..
“So, we have to find ways to increase their production right from seed production, planting process, and distribution process,” he told a press conference after visiting MPB Sibu today.
Fadillah, who is the Deputy Prime Minister, said one of the ways to increase and diversify the income of small farmers is through suitable cash crops planted together with the pepper seeds.
“Agencies under the Ministry of Plantation Industries and Commodities will encourage smallholders to continue pepper planting and include other cash crops to improve their income due to the fluctuating prices of pepper,” he said.
In relation to that, the Petra Jaya MP said his ministry and MPB will render assistance in the form of fertilisers, pesticides and technical training for the smallholders to ensure Sarawak pepper is recognised as the best in the world
“We want to assure that Sarawak’s pepper is of the best quality. At present, it is still being recognised as the world’s best and in order to maintain this, we need to improvise the whole planting process,” he said.
Meanwhile, MPB Sibu received the Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP) from the Health Ministry in April last year after successfully producing a total of 928.67 metric tonnes of black and white pepper for export last year.
“Throughout 2022, MPB Sibu distributed aid amounting to RM7.6 million to 346 smallholders out of which 96 of them were under the Pepper Replanting Scheme (totalling RM3.3 million) while 250 fall under the Mature Pepper Planting Scheme receiving a total of RM4.2 million,” he said.
Under the Sibu division itself, pepper crops cover some 495 hectares, housing a total of 3,402 smallholders.
