INNOVATION AND CHALLENGES

IN MALAYSIAN AGRICULTUREIN MALAYSIAN AGRICULTURE

TOPIC 1TOPIC 1

RESEARCH and INNOVATION TECHNOLOGY

Technological innovations in agricultureachieved through local research findingsachieved through local research findingsfrom:

1. government agencies such as MARDI,MPOB, MCB, MRB, FRIM and, , ,

2. private sector such as plantation agencieslike Golden Hope, Sime Darby, Guthrie, IOI

1.1 Oil Palm• Malaysia’s golden crop contributing RM30 billion to GNP

annually Equals to petroleum (Star 17 Sept 2007)annually. Equals to petroleum (Star, 17 Sept 2007)• Malaysia is currently the major world producer of palm oil• Cultivated in excess of 3.8 million ha• Malaysian companies reverse investing in Indonesia,

New Guinea, West Africa and Latin America in oil palmcultivation

• Research improved yield of oil palm to 35tonnes fresh fruit bunches/hectare/yr, using thetonnes fresh fruit bunches/hectare/yr, using theTenera hybrid (bred from the crossing of Duraand Pisifera varieties in early years)

• In the near future, the yield is expected to reach40 tonnes with newer hybrids from40 tonnes with newer hybrids frombiotechnology research

• Applied Agricultural Resources Sdn. Bhd. (KLApplied Agricultural Resources Sdn. Bhd. (KLKepong Group) has developed:

1. Dumpy.Yamgambi.AVROS semi-dwarf oil palmhybrid which helps harvesting, has high yieldpotential and longer economic life

2 Potential high yield clones from tissue culture2. Potential high yield clones from tissue culture.

• In the near future new hybrids will be bred (including• In the near future new hybrids will be bred (includingtransgenic) that can produce more than 50% oleo-fattyacids.

• Palm oil is processed for food oleochemical or biofuel• Palm oil is processed for food, oleochemical or biofuel

• ‘Zero waste industry’:

1. Trunk used as biocomposite material, pulp andpaper or decomposed for fertiliserpaper, or decomposed for fertiliser

2. Leaves used for cattle feed

3. Palm oil mill effluent (POME) used as an organicfertilizerfertilizer.

• Integrated farming with livestock in oil palm plantationsl ti dalso practised

1.2 Rubber• Malaysia is the third largest rubber

producer in the world with 1 7 million haproducer in the world with 1.7 million ha.trees.

• Many technological innovations have been developed inthe rubber industry by MRB:

1. High yield and disease resistant clones producing>3500 kilo rubber ha-1 yr-1.

2. In the 70s it introduced a high grade rubber namedStandard Malaysian Rubber (SMR) in the form ofh b hi h i i t ti ll i dheveacrumb which is internationally recognizedas high quality raw material.

3. New tapping method called puncture tapping ormicrotapping, with increased latexproduction.

It produces yields, with hormonalstimulation (etheral) comparablestimulation (etheral), comparableto conventional excision tapping.

• Rubber can be turned into many manufactured goodsy gand used for many purposes:

1. Conventionally, rubber can be made into1. Conventionally, rubber can be made intotyres, gloves, shoes, condoms, mats, insulators,erasers, etc.

2 N l t ti b l (LTC) RRIM 200 i2. New latex-timber clones (LTC), RRIM 200 serieshave been introduced of which the trunk can be usedfor timber

3. Vitamin E has also been extracted from the latex.

• Malaysia has the best system of plantationt i th t i ll ith th t fmanagement in the tropics, all with the support of

years of research, especially pertaining toterracing and cover crops.terracing and cover crops.

• Current rubber production is sustained at 750,000p ,million tonnes yr-1

• Consolidation of uneconomic-sized smallholdings into estates have achieved economies of scale

• Replanting are undertaken as part of reforestationprogrammesprogrammes.

1.3 Cocoa1.3 Cocoa

• Cocoa production: 131,000 tonnes (1995)70,000 tons (2000)

Reduction due to:

1. reduction in planted areas (1989: 400,000 ha;2005: 33,313 ha)

2. low market price

3 adverse weather conditions3. adverse weather conditions

4. labour shortage and

5. high production cost due to pests and diseases

• Malaysia imports cocoa beans from Indonesia to fulfillthe requirement of the many processing factories.

• In 2002 a biotechnology division of MCB wasIn 2002 a biotechnology division of MCB wasestablished. Research includes:

1. agrobiotechnology to improve primaryproductivity and efficiency

2. improving quality of cocoa products withrespect to safety and healthrespect to safety and health

3 new useful bioactive compounds (industrial3. new useful bioactive compounds (industrialand pharmaceutical) from tree, pod wasteand associated microbes

1 4 Padi1.4 Padi

• Malaysia currently achieves only 70% self-sufficiency inrice. Target is to achieve 90% self-sufficiency in nearf tfuture.

• Among the eight granary areas, the major productiong g g y j pcentres (rice bowls) are:

1. MADA (Kedah-Perlis)( eda e s)

2. KADA (Kelantan) and

3. Sawah Sempadan-Tanjung Karang (Selangor).

• In 1995, the average national production: 3.8 tons per ha

Some areas in MADA: > 5 tons ha-1

Some areas in Tanjong Karang: >10 tons ha-1

• Governmant aims to raise the yield to 10 tons ha-1 with new technology. gy

• Commercialization and greater private sectorinvolvementinvolvement

• Involves:1 M h i ti f i d ti d1. Mechanisation of rice production and2. Consolidation of small holdings to group

farming and estates (mini estates in Hilirfarming and estates (mini-estates in HilirPerak)

• Specially formulated chemical fertilizers in trialsdoubled padi yield and improved quality:doubled padi yield and improved quality:

1. Vita-grow® is a foliar fertilizer developed byUPM that contains complete and balancedplant nutrients

2. Zappa® is another UPM product that enhancesrapid germination and tilleringrapid germination and tillering.

1.5 Livestock• Livestock industry:

1995: RM953 million2000: RM 1.1 billion (3.1% growth/yr)( g y )

• Integration of livestock rearing in oil palm andrubber plantations increased greatly beef andrubber plantations increased greatly beef andmutton production.

• Integration reduces management cost byallowing livestock to eat away weeds and havinganimal dung distributed all over as fertilizeranimal dung distributed all over as fertilizer.

• Land development agencies namely FELDA• Land development agencies, namely FELDA,RISDA, FELCRA and State governments haveparticipated in this integration programme.

• Cattle have also been raised in feed-lots, a concept introduced from overseas inearly years

• Malaysia has developed new breed of y pbeef cattle named Brahmas, a cross-breed betweenimported Brahman andlocal Kedah-Kelantan breedlocal Kedah Kelantan breed.

• Buffaloes are also now selected for meatpurposespurposes.

• A sheep named Malin, across between Australianand Indonesian breedswas also developed to increase localsupply of muttonsupply of mutton.

Th B t S th Af i b d• The Boar goats, a South African breed,are raised in large numbers for the samepurpose.

• Our Malaysian poultry industry is very advancedy p y y y

• We are able to produce broilers (meat) and eggsWe are able to produce broilers (meat) and eggsto meet not just the nation’s demand but also forexport

• Much research has been conducted on chicken diseaseslocally.

• The fowl pox and the Newcastle disease vaccines• The fowl pox and the Newcastle disease vaccinesdesigned at UPM are now marketed internationally, whilevaccine against the infectious bursal disease is expectedto be available soonto be available soon.

• Researches on deer and ostrich haveResearches on deer and ostrich havebeen undertaken by UPM and MARDI toprovide alternative meat resourcesprovide alternative meat resources.

1.6 Fisheries• Aquaculture (aquafarming) is the cultivation of natural• Aquaculture (aquafarming) is the cultivation of natural

produce of water such as fish, shellfish, prawns, crabs,algae and other aquatic organisms

• Distinguished from fishing by the idea of active humaneffort as opposed to simply taking them from the wild.

• Aquaculture includes:1. Fish farming - raising of fresh water

(carp, catfish, prawn, tilapia) andbrackish water (sea bass, tiger prawn,crabs) fishes in ponds, net cages onland or river

2. Mariculture - aquaculture in the oceanqwhich includes raising of mollusks(oysters, clams), cultured pearls, algae( y , ), p , gand seaweeds.

• The fisheries industry has received government incentivesto further commercialise, consolidate small ventures foreconomy of scale and venture into export marketseconomy of scale, and venture into export markets

• Mega-fishing ports thatg g pmanage integrated processingcomplexes have been constructedi P d S kin Penang and Sarawak.

• The government has set the target for fish production of1.7 million tons by 2010 from the current 0.98 million tonsannuallyannually.

• Fishes produces about 60% of the animal protein intake ofthe country.

• Research has been done on the use ofprobiotics in improving cultivation of fish andprawns.A rapid detection kit has been developed todetect white spot syndrome virus (WSSV)disease in prawnsdisease in prawns.

Biotechnology is low key at the moment but will be• Biotechnology is low-key at the moment but will be promoted extensively in the future.

1.7 Fruits, Flowers and Vegetables• Much research conducted on fruits such as: banana,

pineapple, papaya, starfruit, mango, durian, guava,watermelon, jackfruit, rambutan, citrus, duku langsat,, j , , , g ,cempedak, ciku and mangosteen.

• Flowers such as orchids is a growing industry. TissueFlowers such as orchids is a growing industry. Tissueculture is now used for mass-production of orchidseedlings which are even exported

• The vegetable industry has recorded a growth of 7.2%annually. Research have focused on yield increase,optimal usage of fertilizers water and new strains togetheroptimal usage of fertilizers, water, and new strains togetherwith pest and disease control

• Mushrooms which are• Mushrooms which arestrictly fungi butconsidered as “vegetables”i i i d tis a growing industryin Malaysia. Researchhas focused on productionpbiotechnology, cultivation of newspecies and novel mushroom products.

1.8 Bioagents• Innovations using biological

organisms can be foundf f fin the form of biofertilizers

such as Rhizobium and biocontrol agents.

• UPM has formulatednaturally occurringantagonistic fungi effectiveagainst fungal diseases of vegetables.

Predatory mites have beensuccessfully mass-rearedfor control of plant-eating mites.

1.9 Precision Agriculture• This is a new innovation in agriculture.

Also known as “site specificmanagement” Initially attracted themanagement . Initially attracted theinterest of the plantation sector.

• Utilises ICT and electronic tools to determine specificamounts of fertilizer, pesticide, etc. required in specificlocalities (micro-niches)localities (micro niches).

• In the long run saves management cost and increasesi ldyield.

• Precision agriculture is being practiced partly in oil palmPrecision agriculture is being practiced partly in oil palmand padi growing areas.

TOPIC 2

FUTURE CHALLENGES IN AGRICULTUREAGRICULTURE

2.1 Labour• There is a great shortage of labour with cost

rising steadily in Malaysia. In agriculture there ist d d f f i l b ithgreat dependence of foreign labour with some

estates employing 100% foreigners particularlythose from Indonesia and the Philippines.those from Indonesia and the Philippines.

• However, as a transitional measure, thegovernment still adopt a liberal policy on the

it t f f i k f th i lt lrecruitment of foreign workers for the agriculturalsector.

2.2 Price

• Increase in the price of fertilizers, seeds, toolsand equipments has affected the cost ofand equipments has affected the cost ofagricultural production.

• Market price is also elastic and problematic attimes especially when there is a sudden drop intimes especially when there is a sudden drop incommodity price.

2.3 Crop Choicep

• Big conglomerates are not interested inBig conglomerates are not interested in agriculture other than planting oil palm and rubberrubber.

N t l i i l d i• Not many large companies are involved in food crops.

2.4 New Agricultural TechnologyResearch on new frontier technologies although most stillg gexperimental include use of:

1. Cell, tissue culture and genetic engineering techniques tod l i tidevelop new crop varieties

2. Plant cell cultures to develop new products inpharmaceuticals nutriceuticals and food additivespharmaceuticals, nutriceuticals and food additives

3. Embryo manipulation technology and geneticallyengineered vaccines to increase animal productivityengineered vaccines to increase animal productivity

4. Robotics, computer modeling and microprocessor controlin machinery and automation equipment to reduce labourin machinery and automation equipment to reduce labour

5. Advanced processing and packaging systems tostrengthen better post-harvest handling and shelf-lifestrengthen better post harvest handling and shelf lifeof agricultural products.

2.5 Resources

• There is keen competition for resource use inpfuture between agriculture, industry, residentialbuildings, wildlife, recreational establishments,and water catchmentsand water catchments.

• The main challenge in the future is to enable• The main challenge in the future is to enablecontinuous crop production with high yield perunit area. Unfortunately, excessive agrochemicalinputs needed lead to soil degradation. Landdevelopment adds to the degradation.

• Water resource managementis important as only 2 1% ofis important as only 2.1% ofthe country’s heavy rainfallis being used currently.is being used currently.This low rate is due toseasonal distribution of rainfall.

• Excess water causes flooding and need to bedrained More water storage dams should bedrained. More water storage dams should beconstructed to reduce water losses.

• Water resources should also be managed at thenational level as presently it is under individualstate jurisdiction.state jurisdiction.

• Land development therefore has to bel d hi h i l lti lproperly managed which involves multiple

objectives decision making.

• An environmental impact assessment(EIA) has been made mandatory toanyone who intends to develop landcommercially, including large scaleagric lt ral de elopmentagricultural development.

In summary, agricultural practices ony g parable soils must be productive,environmental friendly and sustainable.yThis calls for efficient water, fertilizer, soilconservation management and newgtechnologies such as precision farmingand biotechnologygy