KUCHING: Sarawak pepper planters form 98 per cent of the total of 29,614 in the country. In disclosing this, Plantation, Industr ies and Commodities (MPIC) Minister Datuk Seri Mah Siew Keong, said the government will continue to provide assistance to this group.
This is as a continuous effort to reduce the burden of the small farmers, said the minister. Mah said that under the 11th Malaysia Plan (RMK11), his ministry had allocated a development fund of RM40.9 million to build the National Pepper Centre for the development and expansion of the pepper industry in the country which is being implemented in Semenggok, Kuching.
“With the amount of pepper planters in the country reaching 29,614, Sarawak pepper planters comprise 98 per cent of the figure. “Thus, with the completion of the National Pepper Centre, it would help Malaysia Pepper Board (MPB) to intensify and strengthen the research and development activities of the national pepper industry as well as spurring the pepper industry position into a more competitive and sustainable in the global stage,” Mah told reporters in a press conference after attending to the 10th Anniversary of Malaysian Pepper Board during the Pepper Festival 2017 held at Imperial Hotel, here yesterday.
He added indirectly, MPB and MPIC have indirectly produced many small planters and also pepper commodities entrepreneurs in Malaysia as pepper can yield a good return to the planters. Meanwhile, MPB chairman Tan Sri William Mawan Ikom noted that MPB is hoping that the federal government and also the ministry will continue to provide support towards their programmes and activities.
“We hope that the federal government and ministry would consider the proposal by MPB to create a Social Safety Net (SSN) for the small pepper planters in order to help reduce their burden when the pepper price decreases.
“If such mechanisms could be created in the rubber planting sector, I believe the same perks can be done for the pepper cultivation sector in Malaysia. “Incentives during the uncertainty of pepper price should be given to pepper planters, especially in the rural areas where they are still entirely dependent on pepper crops to support their family,” said Mawan.
The three-day event of MPB 10th Anniversary and ‘Pesta Lada’ (Pepper Festival) 2017 was held in Imperial Hotel starting 13 October until 15 October 2017. The event also witnessed the launch of the mobile application called ‘Dr. Lada’ and Pepper Recipe Cooking Book by Mah. Also present were Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas and other distinguished guests.
