M'SIAN PM ASKS BIG AGRI DEVELOPERS TO HELP THE SMALL

TEMERLOH (Malaysia), Jan 13 (Bernama) -- Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi Tuesday called on developers of large-scale and high-impact agricultural projects to assist smallholders in the same field to consolidate the food production industry in the country.

The prime minister said the conglomerates could allow the smallholders to
ride on their projects to develop the industry together for greater
competitiveness.

"Small entrepreneurs who own two, three or 10 hectares of land can be helped
in terms of crops, fertilizer, seedlings and management, and their produce can
be bought by the large farms," he said when launching the Permanent Food
Production Park and Lanchang Modern Agriculture Park near here, a twon in east
coast state of Pahang.

Abdullah said it would be difficult for the small farmers to garner better
returns if they worked independently.

The Permanent Food Production Park is a high-impact project implemented on
3,600 hectares under the East Coast Economic Region (ECER) development
corridor,a mega infrastructure project, with the focus on vegetables and fruits
including papaya, jackfruit, pineapple and starfruit.

Abdullah also said that fruit production efforts must give value added to
the industry by diversifying the by-products.

This was one way of overcoming a glut of fruits in the market during a
period of good harvest, he added.

Citing an example, he said the seeds of the jackfruit could be used to
produce by-products, and called for stepping up of research in the area.

Abdullah said the government's focus on the agricultural industry was
necessary as part of the government's efforts to ensure sufficient supply of
food for the country.

He said that with good planning and implementation, it was not impossible
for Malaysia to become a large food producer like the Netherlands.