By: Datuk Seri Mohd Hashim Abdullah Secretary General, Ministry of Agriculture and Agro-Based Industry

The global momentum on urban horticulture is building up, and it is high time for Malaysia with

its RM36.09 billion food bill in 2012 to seriously embark on urban horticulture programmes in our cities.

Urban horticulture has been changing the landscape, economic outlook and vitality of many cities of the world.

A new crop of urban farmers, together with the relevant authorities, communities and NGOs are turning vacant urban plots into productive use and turning around their communities.

They have been reaping the harvest of urban farms which includes access to healthy food, work force training and

job development and neighbourhood revitalisation.

These cities have created urban horticulture friendly policies to support their urban horticulture programmes. On average, it is estimated that urban farming can produce 10-20% of the vegetables and fruits consumed by the local population.

Urban horticulture friendly policies need to be developed to support the Malaysian urban horticulture

programme. Policies should support both the low and medium income communities as well as communities that could greatly benefit from urban farms.

Some of the horticulture friendly policies approaches include identifying idle and underutilised industrial and commercial facilities for urban horticulture programmes.

Agriculture Reverse Investment in Aceh Pg2

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SCIENTIA MARDI – Effective sharing of information

Malaysia has identi f ied agriculture as the third growth engine under the

New Economic Model and one of the biggest challenge in encouraging the growth of this sector lies in improving the image and public perception of our agricultural research and technologies on the global stage.

There are various research and development efforts being carried out in food and agriculture and MARDI is entrusted with the task of sharing and disseminating the latest information to the target audience and all stakeholders.

A newsletter is an effective method of sharing the relevant information to

the target group and all stakeholders.Called Scientia MARDI, this

newsletter focuses more on information about technologies and commerciali-sation and less on articles that are excessively technical or too scientific for the target group to digest.

Sharing of information through the newsletter would have the additional effect of promoting and encouraging the growth of agriculture as an industry in accordance with global trend.

Scientia MARDI is another medium for MARDI researchers to share their findings and latest technologies in food and agriculture to a wider audience.

The newsletter may pave a way

of promoting strategic networking between MARDI and industry stakeholders based on client/stakeholder management principle.

Scientia is also a channel for promoting MARDI and the country’s capabilities and competencies in agricultural and agro-industrial research and development.

Apart from highlighting the latest information and topical issues in agricultural research and development, Scientia will also share information on potential investment opportuni-ties based on the newest technologies generated by MARDI’s research and development efforts.

Urban Horticulture: The way to reduce food import bill and make our cities more livable

More on page 6

Minister of Agriculture (3rd from left) visiting booths at Urban Holticulture Conference 2014 in Johor Bharu

Innovation in urban farming - Self watering containers

Pg3

Banana diversity in Malaysia

Pg4

High Throughput Genotyping Services at CMDV

Pg8

ASEAN Seed Council Development Meeting

Pg12

Launching of Scientia on 27 April, 2014 by DG MARDI at Fiesta Riuh Sakan, Putrajaya

Food security, safety and quality is MARDI’s focus Pg2

Sept 2014Vol: 002

MARDI featured in the South China Morning Post MARDI improves plant performance in Kuala Lumpur urban orchardBy: Dr. Zabedah Mahmood Horticulture Research Center, MARDI

The Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute (MARDI) and Kuala

Lumpur City Hall ( DBKL) is working together to upgrade and improve the performance of fruit trees at an urban orchard in the city.

Kuala Lumpur Mayor, Datuk Seri Ahmad Phesal Talib said this new concept of an orchard in the city would create a new experience for tourists in the capital.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to facilitate the urban orchard and urban agriculture collaboration was signed by DBKL and MARDI on April 7, 2014.

This three-year collaboration with an annual budget of RM500,000 per year focuses on urban orchard and urban agriculture.

For the urban orchard project, MARDI will provide technical assistance and recommendations to improve plant performance in the urban orchard, hands on training and courses to the staff of DBKL.

With the assistance of MARDI, the longan plant in the orchard has started to flower and fruit for the first time this year.

For the urban agriculture portion of the collaboration, focus will be on the development of vertical edible landscape, sustainable and functional landscape for practical application in Kuala Lumpur and development of urban farming projects for selected communities.

Although urban farming is widely practiced in many cities of the world, Malaysia is considered a beginner. With proper planning, management and support from city dwellers, urban farming will soon become a reality in Malaysian cities.

By: Dr. Zabedah Mahmood, Ab. Kahar Sandrang and Sakinah Idris, Horticulture Research Centre, MARDI

Burdened with the ever increasing food prices, the urban poor are estimated to spend 50-70% of

their income on food. It is time for the urban population to start growing their own food as community or individual projects and ensure a continuous supply of nutritious fresh vegetables and fruits.

Before public interest can grow, farming techniques need to be modernised to make growing food easy and interesting.

Growing in containers is getting popular especially in cities where the space for gardening is rather limited. However, container growing is water intensive, requiring watering two to three times a day, every day. With the busy city life, watering can easily be forgotten and would be avoided altogether during days of water rationing.

An elegant solution to the above scenario is using self watering containers (SWC). MARDI has recently innovated and commercialised SWC with the trade name Greenkit.

Made of plastic containers, the water reservoir at the bottom is separated from the growing media that is fed water through capillary tubes made from LECA and oil palm shells. MARDI Greenkit is the first to use hard particles as capillary tubes compared to other SWC which normally use wick or fabrics which are not durable.

The hard particles in the capillary tubes regulate the f low of water upwards. This enables sufficient moisture to be maintained in the growing media and simultaneously avoid over wetting.

Watering is done through a pvc pipe that is connected to the reservoir. To

guide watering needs, a float indicator is placed in the pipe.

The self watering mechanism and the position of the reservoir minimise evaporation losses and watering can be reduced to once a week during the dry season. Fertilizer use is also minimised with about 2 grams or one tablespoon of NPK granules for one crop of leafy vegetables.

Measuring 56 cm x 24 cm x 21 cm, most vegetables, herbs and ornamentals grow well in Greenkit. The size is sufficient for at least a single serving of vegetables for the family. Each Greenkit can produce a kilogramme of spinach or kailan, sufficient for a single serving of eight.

As for ‘ulam’, one Greenkit can pack a few species as only a few young shoots is usually consumed in a single meal. It is amazing to note that we can grow herbaceous trees such as ‘tenggek burung’ and curry plant in a Greenkit by training them small and compact as we keep pinching the shoots for consumption.

Greenkit is readily available in the market, priced at RM40 each with soiless media.

The kit is also suitable for growing fruits. Using the same concept of capillary action for self watering as in Greenkit, MARDI has developed SWC for potted fruits. Of course, fruit trees grown in SWC produce fewer fruits than full grown trees in the ground. However, picking your own fresh wax apples or guava can be very refreshing and therapeutic.

Most fruits that are terminal bearers are suitable in SWC such as wax apples, guava, starfruits, mangoes, sapota, mulberry, limes, lemons, mandarins, figs and even mangosteen. With a little supporting structure, climbers such as grapes and passion fruit can also be grown.

The trees can be placed in the open, on balconies or roof tops. Growing

under restricted rooting environment coupled with proper management of water level, fruit trees grown in SWC were observed to flower and fruit much earlier compared to trees planted on the ground.

Wax apples and guava, which normally start to bear fruits about two and a half to three years after planting, start to bear fruits in about six months in SWC.

Mangosteen on the other hand start to flower and fruit within three years

compared to five years on the ground. It is also important to prune the potted fruit tree after each harvest to maintain smaller and manageable tree size. About 50 g of NPK granules buried in each pot every two months is sufficient to support fruiting fruit trees as there is no leaching of fertilizer in the SWC.

Thus, Greenkit and SWC for potted fruits should be given consideration when planning for planting your own vegetables, herbs, ornamentals and fruits.

Innovation in urban farming - Self watering containers

Food security, safety and quality is MARDI’s focus

Food powers the economy as well as the body and the Malaysian Agricultural Research and

Development Institute (MARDI) is playing a key role helping the country and other nations hone technical services and entrepreneurship development in food, agriculture and related fields.

MARDI has led the successful generation of new crop varieties

and animal breeds for more than 40 years and has also developed the best management practices in the industry using state-of-the-art horti-cultural, livestock and food processing techniques, including precision farming and soil, water and genetic resources optimisation.

MARDI Director General, Datuk Dr Sharif Haron said that food is not just for nourishment but as a mean to a healthy future for any nation, it has to be high quality, nutritious and sustainable.

“The world is changing and so should the ways we view, use and cultivate food. As Malaysia aspires to become a high income and high productivity economy by 2020, food security, safety and quality will be key amid global climate change, population growth and diminishing natural resources.

MARDI collaborates with various local, regional and international or-ganisations such as the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and The

World Vegetable Centre (AVRDC) in their key research efforts.

The institute is also open to collabo-ration with private companies such as chemical specialist, BASF and food and beverage giant, Nestle. In this instance, the effort is to develop a bio-fortified, vitamin A-rich sweet potato suitable for baby food and other products.

MARDI is also in partnership with the Shandong Academy of Sciences on microbial fertiliser that can potentially enrich organic fertilisers in China.

The institute also provides consultancy services through its subsidiary, Marditech Corp. and their advice and expertise in creating sustainable food policies and programmes have reached countries such as Afghanistan, Syria and Nigeria.

MARDI also achieves excellent service in developing better animal and plant feed programmes through another channel, The Centre for Molecular Development and Validation (CMDV).

“Beyond sharing our know-how, we are keen on developing next-generation

products such as functional/composite food and hybrid crops,” says Sharif.

“In the next five years, we envision delving into nanotechnology, mecha-nisation and early warning pest control systems, sharing our expertise with Asia Pacific and the world.

Meanwhile, MARDI is poised to launch a high clearance tractor with an in house developed gear that can be used in fields without damaging the crops. Another project uses remote controlled aerial vehicles in studying vast areas for various research purposes such as fertility surveillance.

“We will continue promoting the culture of innovation while helping to ensure food security, increased agricultural productivity and efficiency, competitiveness and waste reduction through research and technology development”.

“We hope to attract more young talents who can leverage information and communication technology in further developing value added applications,” Sharif added.

Agriculture Reverse Investment in Aceh

By: Dato’ Ruhaidini Abd Kadir Press Secretary to Minister of MOA

Nearly ten years since the tsunami hit Aceh, Banda Aceh

is bustling once again, the roads repaired, buildings covered in fresh paint and the people back to their daily pursuits.

During his three-day working visit to Aceh r e c e nt ly, M a l ay s i a’s Minister of Agriculture and Agro-Based Industry, Datuk Ismail Sabri Yaakob was told by Aceh Governor, Dr. Zaini Abdullah that without assistance from the Indonesian Government as well as the generosity of international donors, Aceh

may not fully recover even in another 20 years.

Dr. Zaini estimated that AS$7 bilion (RM23.3 bilion) in donation went into rebuilding infrastructure and facilities as well as reha-bilitating more than 80,000 hectares of agricultural land. A large portion of this was paddy fields as well as 15,000 hectares of land used for aquaculture.

The Minister’s visit was to better articulate what kinds of investments would benefit both Malaysia and Aceh and align them with the Agriculture Transfor-mation Programme that was recently launched.

During the Malaysia-Aceh Business Forum dinner, Ismail Sabri said Malaysia is looking for win-win investment oppor-

tunities in the context of the agriculture industry; this means a reverse investment in Aceh’s agriculture, livestock and fishery sectors. This will involve direct imports of all relevant products from Aceh and giving Malaysian halal agro products access to the market in Aceh.

Ismail Sabri said the focus sectors are rice, vegetable, livestock and fishery and investment will be implemented this year in Aceh by the National F a r mer s A s s o ci at ion ( NA FAS) through its subsidiary PT Nafasindo. Contract farms will be set up with Aceh farmers to ensure sustained supply.

“A c e h h a s hu g e potentials and one of their key advantages is a large

pool of human resource. Common culture, history and religious background are also magnets that attract Malaysian investment in Aceh,” says Ismail Sabri who led a delegation 0f 30 heads of department and agencies under the Ministry of Agriculture and Agro-Based Industry.

Ismail Sabri told the media that Malaysia and Aceh have agreed to form a technical committee to discuss possible agriculture projects in Aceh. The committee is chaired by the ministry’s deputy chief secretary, Datuk Mohd Arif Abdul Rahman with members from FAMA, LPP, Malaysian Fisheries Development Board (LKIM), Nekmat and the Veterinary Services Department.

The Minister took the opportunity to visit several agro industries in Aceh which included a livestock farm, rice processing plant, port and several industrial estates. Together with Dr. Zaini, Ismail Sabri also officially opened PT Nafasindo’s new office in Banda Aceh.

Ismail Sabri also had the chance to see the dramatic transformation in Lamulo and Ulee Lheue from the scene of total destruction after the tsunami to the hive of fishery activities today.

“A delegation from Aceh will return our visit next March and this is an indication of their strong desire and intent to work together with us”.

Ismail Sabri Yaakob (middle) visiting a local fish market in Aceh

Herbs & vegetables planted in green kit

VIEW POINT2 Sept 2014

TECHNOLOGY3Sept 2014

Advisor• Dato’ Dr. Sharif Haron

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By: Suhana Omar, Wan Rozita Wan Angah Horticulture Research Centre, MARDI

It may come as a surprise to many that banana is the third most important human food source on the planet,

outranked only by rice and wheat in terms of the gross value of production.

The exact origin of bananas is unknown. However, Simmonds and Shepherd (1995) proposed a generally accepted theory that the Indo-Malaysia region is the centre of origin and diversity of bananas of the world today.

From Southeast Asia, the cultivation of bananas spread throughout the tropics and into the subtropics of Asia, South

America, Africa and Australia where it has gained great importance and popularity today.

In Malaysia, over 200 accessions are kept in the field collection at MARDI, more than 50 of which are distinct. The collection covers both the wild and cultivated types plus a few ornamentals.

The system of bananas classification adopted follows closely to that drawn up by Simmonds and Shepherd (1955) who used a scoring method to indicate the relative contributions of the two wild species, Musa acuminata and M. balbisiana, to the constitution of any given cultivar.

Using the diagnostic 15 characters which include characteristics for pseudostem, petiole canal, peduncle, pedicel, ovule, bract shoulder, bract scars, free sepal of male flower, male flower colour and stigma colour, each of which would reflect the differences between M. acuminata and M. balbisiana.

Musa acuminata is a perennial plant. The pseudostem is a tightly packed layer of leaf that emerges from the corms. The flowers are white to yellowish white, and both male and female flowers are present in a single inflorescence. Female flowers are located near the base that grows into the fruit, while the male flowers at the tipmost top-shaped bud in between hard bracts.

The fruit shape is slender in berry category, the size of each depends on the number of seeds they contain. The examples of M. acuminata include Pisang Mas, Pisang 40 hari, Pisang Rastali, Pisang Masam, Pisang Berangan, Pisang Raja and Pisang Raja Udang Merah.

Musa balbisiana is a species of wild banana which grows lush leaves in clumps with a more upright habit than most cultivated bananas. Flowers grow in inflorescences ranging from red to maroon while the fruits are between blue and green. They are considered inedible because of the seeds they contain. Examples of M. balbisiana include pisang Gala, Pisang Abu Nipah and Pisang Abu Siam.

The world produces over 70 million tonnes of banana anually and it is interesting to note that banana is consumed mostly locally

with only about 10-15% going into the export market. The cultivars of the export trade belong mainly to the

Cavendish group while there are still many banana cultivars that are relatively unknown and underex-

ploited.The cultivated bananas and plantains belong

to the family Musaceace, genus Musa and section Eumusa. The family Musaceace is formed by two genera, Ensete and Musa. The genus Ensete consists of monocarpic herbs, cultivated mainly for their pseudostem as a staple food rather than their fruits. Only two species, Ensete ventricosum and E. edule, are of economic importance.

In the genus Musa, there are four main sections, namely, Australimusa, Callimusa, Eumusa and Rhodochlamys. The newly created section, Ingentimus, has only one species, M. ingens, while the section Caliimusa and Rhodochlamys are mainly known for their

ornamentals. The section Australimusa has two important species, M. textiles for their fibre and M.

troglodytarum for their fruits. The most popular and widely distributed section, however, is Eumusa, from which most of the edible bananas originated. The edible cultivars were derived from two wild species, namely, M. acuminata Colla and M. balbisiana Colla.

Banana diversity in Malaysia

Pisang Abu Nipah Pisang Abu Siam

Pisang Berangan Pisang Gala

Pisang Lilin Pisang Jari Buaya

Pisang Raja Pisang Mas

Pisang Udang Merah

Banana Paste for Granola Bars By: Sharifah Samsiah Mohamad Food Technology Research Centre, MARDI Rashilah Mohamad Economic Research & Technology Management Centre, MARDI

Health consciousness has become an important by-word in food consumerism and this has led to a boom in healthy food production, ranging from organic to free range to low fat and high energy products

taking the market by storm.Granola bars are important products in the health food market which is

made big by international brands such as Uncle Tobys and Nature Valley. It continues to attract consumers who consider the granola bars as highly nutritious snacks for active individuals.

MARDI’s research has led to some local fruits that showed potential as a substitute for temperate fruits in granola bars.

Global interest in fruits rich in polyphenols or naturally occurring phyto-chemicals is increasing as research shows that their properties in food products such as confectionery bars may promote health.

Market studies conducted in Malaysia as well as abroad indicate that the product has potential and is ready for commercialisation.

Banana paste is developed for making granola bars with natural banana flavour and taste. It is typically used together with other ingredients to produce heavy syrup which acts as a binder to cement a mixture of cereals, dried fruits and other dried ingredients such as roasted nuts together in granola bar manufacturing.

Consumer Acceptance Survey of Granola BarsA survey of 1,200 respondents was carried out in the Klang Valley to

determine if the product could gain market acceptance. The respondents were randomly chosen from all walks of life and they were given four types of granola bars to sample, roselle-almond, date-almond, banana-almond and coconut-almond. Table 1 below shows the survey results for banana-almond granola bars.

The majority of respondents rated all the attributes with a score of 4 or better. The next largest score group was 3 which indicated that the respondents were indifferent about attributes evaluated. Between 13 to 19% consumers liked the attributes very much, by giving a score of 5. Only a small fraction of the respondents did not like the product (1.2-14.6%) thus they rated 1 on the 5-points Likert scale on all attributes.

Table 1 : Acceptance of banana-almond granola bar by local consumers

Dubai Trade Fair A survey done in Dubai Trade Fair in 2013 drew 496 respondents from five

continents and 16 countries and 91.5% said that they could accept the product. Around 72% strongly preferred the banana granola and a mere 5% indicated strong dislike.

Based on this survey we can conclude that further marketing efforts for both local and international scenes, would ensure success of the business. Usage of tropical fruits in the form of paste such as banana, jackfruit, coconut, dates and roselle have improved the acceptance of these products internationally.

Incorporation of these local flavours has produced granola bars with characteristic colours, flavours, tastes, chewiness, aroma, sweetness, physical appearance and improved overall acceptance.

Agro Jerneh Sdn. Bhd., MARDI’s TechnoFund partner, has indicated their interest in commercialising the developed products.

Processing of Banana PasteBanana paste products and its production process were developed and

established at laboratory scale. Fully ripened bananas were used and cut individually from their stems and bunches. The process involves steaming the bananas, removing their skin and homogenously grinding them to produce a very fine puree.

The puree is then cooked with other ingredients to produce banana paste. The paste can be prepared earlier and used immediately in making the binder or stored in a cold room for later use.

Scale-up production of Banana Paste Binder

1. The banana is steam-heated in a cooker.

2. The banana paste is pumped into a continuous mixer to combine with the other ingredients.

3. Cereal and banana paste are mixed at a ratio which is optimised for shelf life as well as flavour profile.

4. The mixture forms a continuous slab which will be cooled and hardened for easy slicing.

5. The bars are cut at a pre-determined size, individually packed and ready for the market.

% Score1 2 3 4 5

Attribute

Colour 1.2 9.3 27.8 47.4 14.3

Aroma 3.7 14.6 22.3 43.4 16.0

Shape 1.3 8.4 27.5 49.6 13.2

Taste 3.5 14.4 21.8 43.4 16.9

Digestibility 2.7 10.6 25.8 46.6 14.3

Sweetness 2.0 9.8 23.9 48.6 15.7

Overall Acceptance 2.0 6.7 21.8 50.1 19.4

Source : Survey 2012

BIODIVERSITY4

COMMERCIALISATION5Sept 2014Sept 2014

Technology innovation for urban agricultureBy: Y.M. Tengku Ab Malik Tengku Maamun Horticulture Research Centre, MARDI

Rapid u rba nisation is a reality in many

countries and by 2050, it is estimated that 70% of the world population will be living in cities.

Malaysia is not an exception. Our rate of urbanisation is estimated at 2.4% annually and currently, 72% of our population is concentrated in 20 cities.

Urba n a g r icu lt u re is a strategy that could complement rapid urban migration by increasing urban food security, reducing urban poverty and enhancing the urban environment.

As the main agricultural research institute in Malaysia, M A R DI is mandated to conduct research and develop technologies to enhance urban horticulture practices.

The guidelines in developing technologies for urban horticulture is that it should be a modern approach in farming with low energy, low labour and low water requirement, user friendly and can be easily taken up even by those with no knowledge or experience in agriculture. However, continuous education and training is important to ensure sustainability of urban agriculture in Malaysia.

Some of the innovations by MARDI that are suitable for sustainable urban agriculture include Greenkit, self-watering container for selected fruit trees, multitier hydroponic system, tube planting system, vertical farming system, vertical walls and fertigation system.

Urban Horticulture: The way to reduce food import bill and make our cities more livable

Local authorities should also provide city services such as collection of waste from urban farms, composting

of urban waste into fertilizer and easy access to water in order to reduce the cost of urban farming.

Green urban development planning should include urban horticulture friendly policies. These policies should reflect long term commitments such as zoning laws that carve out niches for urban horticulture projects and they should be protected from redevelopment.

Grants and affordable loans would play an important role in financially supporting the start-up and operating cost just to initiate projects. Later they should be self financing.

Research and innovation is important to make urban farms modern, low energy and low labour requirement while producing high quality harvest. Increased funding for research and development would help farmers operate more efficiently in horticulture production, management and business operations.

The Malaysian urban horticulture action plan should be an action-oriented plan which should be reasonably implemented within a period of five years. The plan would identify who is responsible for each action item.

Some of the priorities in the action plan would be linking available land and spaces for potential urban horticulture projects, strengthening research, innovation, education and training and creating awareness, increasing promotion and strategies of local production.

As Malaysians are known to be less interested on farming or gardening, an important item in the action plan would be to create awareness on the importance of urban horticulture in improving the community.

Studies have shown that families with greater access to fresh produce, consume healthier diets and have low rates of diet-related diseases. Urban farms or community gardens produce healthier fruits and vegetables with low traces of chemicals.

Participating in community gardens could offset up to 30% of their produce needs by eating foods from their own

gardens. For example, one could easily grow leafy vegetables such as spinach, kangkong and kailan in pots such as Greenkit.

Urban horticulture has been shown to improve community economic wellbeing through job creation, training and skill development and also savings in food bill. Business opportunities can be created when urban farms capacity grows.

Urban farming offers a fertile ground for green innovation. MARDI should take the lead in coming up with up-to-date technologies, prioritising projects to give focus to new and modern forms of urban farming such as rooftop edible gardens, vertical edibles or green curtains, sustainable production systems and even computer-based indoor plant growing.

Besides sustainable production systems, MARDI should also look into urban ecosystems which are important for enhancing local wellbeing and reducing the ecological footprint of cities.

The technologies developed by MARDI need to reach the urban farmers, community growers and entrepreneurs as the success of urban horticulture programmes would depend very much on the technology know-how of community growers and participants of urban horticulture.

As urban farming expands, other agencies such as FAMA would play important roles in the marketing of produce from urban farms or help successful community growers to develop market strategies collectively for their produce so that they could reap profits.

The ministry also encourages participation from various relevant ministries, agencies, city councils and private sectors such as housing developers, suppliers and private office premises. Collaborations between these relevant entities are very important to ensure success.

The recent green requirements outlined by Petaling Jaya City Council such as requirement for rain water harvesting system and Green Building Index for new developments are very positive towards creating public

awareness in creation of green cities.Urban horticulture projects must

start off immediately. The public must be made aware of such projects through programmes such as electronic media, newspapers and newsletters. Such publicity creates awareness, interest and excitement.

Besides community gardens, urban horticulture projects should be seen in government offices, schools, universities,

hospitals and even private premises such as offices, apartments and restaurants serving fresh vegetables from their own gardens.

Urban horticulture with its potential to provide fresh and nutritious food, healthy, safe and sustainable environment for the affordable as well as urban poor, is an important tool in elevating quality of city life in pursuant of making our cities more livable.

Column Multi-level Planting System (CMPS) with salad

CMPS with selected leafy vegetables

“Urban farms should be modern, low energy and low labour while producing high quality harvest”

Tube plot cultivation system in urban agriculture

Vegetables planted in tube plot system

Vertical wall of herbs

From front page

FOCUS6

FOCUS7Sept 2014Sept 2014

High Throughput Genotyping Services at CMDVBy: Rabiatul Adawiah Zainal Abidin, Dr Norzihan Abdullah, Siti Zainab Jantan Biotechnology Research Centre, MARDI

Located at the Biotechnology Research Centre, MARDI, Serdang, the Centre for Marker Discovery and Validation (CMDV) was

established in August 2011 to provide rapid and cost-effective genotyping services for crop, livestock and the aquaculture industry.

To provide highest quality services, CMDV was designed and customised with the latest genotyping platforms supporting current molecular marker technologies such as Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP), Simple Sequence Repeat (SSR) and Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism (AFLP).

CMDV is equipped with three key genotyping robotic platforms, namely the ABI 3730XL DNA Analyzer, Sequenom Mass Array and Illumina iScan.

This has enabled CMDV to generate 100,000 data points of SNP per day via the Sequenom Mass Array and 70,000 data points of SSR per day through the ABI 3730XL.

All valuable samples received from clients are managed and tracked by a dedicated Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) (BiotrackerTM 4.3.) This enables CMDV personnel to track clients and

samples information, manage genotyping workflows, organise inventories as well as create documents such as invoices and reports.

CMDV has also developed an in-house database, which stores genotype data, genetic and physical maps in addition to germplasm information. This acts as a tool to facilitate geneticists and breeders in mining important markers, traits and genes.

CMDV has been successful in providing a wide range of services to its clients such as:• High-throughput DNA extraction• Discovery and validation of molecular markers &

marker-trait association (SNP/SSR)• DNA fingerprinting in crops, livestock &

aquaculture (SNP/SSR/AFLP)• Varietal or accession identification, biodiversity

protection and variety infringement• Marker assisted selection (MAS) and Marker

assisted backcrossing (MABC)

El-Nino:Source, consequences to weather and impact on agriculture

By: Dato Dr. Mohamad Zabawi Abdul Ghani Strategic Resources Research Centre, MARDI

When El-Nino strikes, Malaysians worry about hot weather and water supply disruption as a result

of drought. E-Nino also brings many disrup-tions to agriculture.

Although El-Nino is much talked about, many still do not know the source of this weather phenomenon and how it affects our weather and impact our agricultural productivity.

The answers below may give us some awareness about El-Nino and what we can do to mitigate its effects when it comes along again, in the next two to seven years.

What is El-Nino?

El-Nino refers to the `abnormal’ exten-sive warming of the entire equatorial zones of the central and eastern Pacific Oceans, which is otherwise colder than that in the western equatorial Pacific.

El-Nino leads to a major shift in atmo-spheric circulation and causes a disruption of the ocean-atmosphere system in the tropical Pacific.

It results in the weakening of easterly winds and shifting in tropical rainfall from Indonesia to South America and Pacific, causing drought in Southeast Asian regions.

El-Nino takes place at an interval between two and seven years and lasts for 12 to 19 months. The occurrence of El-Nino in Malaysia has induced weather variabil-ity, which is responsible for frequent, and rampant abnormal climate variation for the last 20 years.

This has brought about serious implica-tions on all economic sectors, including that of agriculture.

El-Nino In Malaysia

Since 1950. there were thirteen major El-Nino events recorded in the country. The worst El-Nino event affecting the country was the 1997/98 event, which began in March 1997 until June 1998. The previous major events were the El-Nino of 1982/83 and 1990.

The overall immediate effect of all El-Nino episodes were delays in the monsoon rains, which resulted in unusually dry weather for most parts of the country.

In the past few years, the prolonged drought encouraged forest fires, and the resultant haze or smoke remained airborne due to too little rain to `wash’ it away.

Many of these fires were set up deliber-ately by plantations and timber companies to clear land, a popular practice because it

is the cheapest and easiest method for land preparation.

The practice of shifting cultivation by small farmers, which also indulge in open burning for land preparation, aggravates the problem further.

The hanging haze and deterioration in air quality is considered a more detrimental effect of El-Nino than the accompanying drought.

Impact on weather parameters

Rainfall

East Malaysia was particularly affected by previous El-Nino incidences in terms of drier than normal rainfall due to their close proximity to the Equator. The impact in Peninsular Malaysia was noticeable only in the northwestern region where seasonal droughts are fairly common. However, in the recent El-Nino episode the impact was felt throughout the country.

The comparison in terms of mean monthly rainfall and rainy days, and the number of rainy days in a year between `normal years’ and major El-Nino years is fairly prominent. During the El-Nino episode of 1997/98, the reduction in rainfall is fairly significant for all regions, ranging between 5% (=100 mm in the Northwest region) to 26% (=1100 mm in Sarawak).

Similarly, the number of rainy days showed a significant reduction for all regions, ranging between 13 days (8%) in central interior region to that of 51 days in Sabah (28%). This confirms the fact that the El-Nino episode of 1997/98 was the worst among the other episodes.

Air Quality

El-Nino induced prolonged dry weather has resulted in the widespread forest and peat swamps fires in Malaysia and in In-donesia either by human deliberation or negligence.

The forest fires gave rise to heavy haze, which deteriorates air quality in almost all regions due to a significant alarming in-crease in the Total Suspended Particulates (TSP; increase between 1.6 to 3.5 fold). The haze remained until blown away by winds, or `washed’ down by heavy rainfall. High level of TSP also affected daily visibility, reduced solar radiation (44% - 83%) and sunlight hours (40% - 63%).

Mean Daily Temperature

The overall increase in the mean daily temperature of the `normal’ (based on the 50-years data) and El-Nino years was between 0.5oC to 1.7 oC for all regions.

During the El-Nino period of 1997/98, the mean daily temperature increased further in all regions, as compared to the `normal’ years. The variations in temperature for all regions ranged from 0.4oC in central interior to 1.1oC in the southern region.

Much greater increase in temperature could be due to the prolonged dry weather, coupled with the `thick’ haze. Tempera-ture in layer between 700 and 600 hPa (= height of the haze) underwent stronger diurnal variations during the haze day as compared to the normal day reflecting the result of radiational heating during the day and radiational cooling during the night in the vicinity of haze top.

Impact on agriculture

Drought

Water is an essential factor in plant growth. Water is needed for photosynthe-sis that enables plants to produce biomass (food) from reaction between water, carbon dioxide and sunlight.

Drought stress decreases photosynthesis rate.

Subsequently, this condition hinders plant growth and reduces its productivity. Plant physiological processes are also not able to function systematically in an insuf-ficient water or moisture condition.

This stress phenomenon can influence chemical (hormone) production in plants that stimulates the process of maturity. This process shortens the plant life. If drought symptom is too serious and persists for a long period of time, the whole plant growth will be affected.

Growth of short term crops with shallow roots such as vegetables, corn, paddy and peanuts are easily affected by drought even in a short period of time compared with perennial crops such as fruit trees, cocoa, rubber and oil palm.

The effects of drought on crops depend on plant growth stage, stress intensity, water shortage and duration of the condition.

In general, when drought occurs, yield from flowering, fruiting or grain producing plants are more affected compared to yield from leafy plants especially during flowering stage.

Impact of water shortage on perennial crops for a short period of time is not very significant as the deep root system enables plants to get water supply from soil for normal growth.

However, the lack of water for long periods of time is the main factor that limits the growth and production of fruit trees.

For example, in places affected by drought for 2 months, growth of star fruit is stunted and flower production is reduced. The fruits produced were small.

Drought condition is also causes the fall of papaya flowers. Papaya fruit structure changes and causes an infertility phase.

Cocoa plant is a perennial crop that is also sensitive to water shortage. However, if the stress of water shortage that occurs is a mild one, the plant produces more fruits.

High air temperature

Drought is closely related to high air temperature. In a situation where the air temperature is high due to El-Nino, drought condition increases plant tissue temperature or animal body temperature.

Like water, temperature also has a very significant impact on plant growth. The main impact of temperature on plants is towards the relevant physiological process in the growth or development of vegetative and genital organs.

Reaction of perennial crops on high tem-perature varies from annual crops. Most of the plants in the tropics can live at high tem-perature. Each plant has various minimum, optimum and maximum temperatures for growth.

If temperature increases beyond criti-cal levels for a long period of time, plant experiences photorespiration. In this situ-ation, most of the biomass/food that was produced through photosynthesis is reused for respiration. Thus, the harvested biomass or yield is reduced.

In general, lowland crops live well at temperatures between 25 to 30° C accord-ing to the types of crop. Rise in temperature accelerates duration of a particular growth stage.

For paddy, high temperature condition that happens after the grain filling stage accelerates maturity and harvesting period.

However, when high temperature occurs at paddy seedling production stage, it is very likely that the number of paddy seedlings decreases and the yield declines as well. During 1998 El-Nino, total production of rice throughout the country decreased more than 5%.

Rise in air temperature also causes forest fires especially in peat forests. During the El-Nino phenomenon, reserve forest and secondary forest in Selangor, Pahang and Sarawak were caught on fire and they were unable to be put off due to insufficient water supply. Large and prolonged forest fires in Kalimantan, Indonesia also added on the adverse effects of El-Nino phenomenon in Malaysia through the occurrence of haze.

As a natural phenomena El-Nino is here to stay and may bring more adverse effects in the future, therefore we need to have more affirmative measures and action plans.

El-Nino and rainfall

El-Nino conditions in the tropical Pacific are known to shift

rainfall in many different parts of the world. Although they vary somewhat from

one El-Nino to the next, the strongest shifts remain fairly

consistent in the regions and seasons

shown on the map.

Urbankit : New technology for urban horticultureBy: Mohd Johaary Abdul Hamid Strategic Planning and Innovation Management Division, MARDI

Rising home prices is a global phenomenon and Malaysia is not spared. This has made it

necessary for low income urbanites to settle in low cost housing which offers very limited potential for any kind of gardening or agricultural activities.

Studies show that by 2020, the urban poor will constitute 85% of our city

population and one of the challenges facing us is finding ways to maximise urban agriculture within the very limited space that is available.

An urban kit for agriculture is one of the best solutions to the space constraint. Urban agriculture will not only help city folks grow their own food and increase their income but if properly managed, it has the potential to improve the quality of the environment.

The Urbankit technology was developed by MARDI to encourage urban horticulture and designed specifically for the urban poor to reduce

their food bill and increase household income.

This kit is suitable for growing herbs and vegetables as well as rearing fresh water fish. Herbs and vegetables such as mint, lettuce, spinach and watercress have been successfully raised together with tilapia, which was chosen due to its high tolerance to variations in water conditions such as pH, temperature, oxygen and nitrates.

This integrated system successfully generates the nutrients needed by the plants and fish with the tilapia food wastes and ammonia running through

a bio-filter with beneficial bacteria, such as Nitrosomonas sp. which reduces the ammonia into nitrites.

The nitrites are further reduced by Nitrobacter sp. into nitrates which are then absorbed by the vegetables for growth and the clean water is then recycled to the fish before continuing in the cycle again.

This kit has proven successful as it does not need additional fertilisation or pesticide to encourage growth. The do-it-yourself kit is cheap, easy to maintain and takes up a very small space of 60 x 31 x 36 inches.

Location : CMDV - Biotechnology Research Centre, MARDI Headquarters, Serdang.

Contact No. : 03-89437550Email : cmdv@mardi.gov.my

Urbankit – Bio filter and fish growing

Bio-filter system

Herb growing section

Vegetable growing section

Fish growing system

Urbankit(5’ x 2.6’ x 3’) 11 square feet

Construction time 2 hours

Structure quality Strong, lightweight, portable

Maintenance Low

Easily modifiable Yes

Cost RM800.00

SNP panel technology is routinely used for application in rice research

Wet

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Dry

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Dry

Dry

DryDry

Nov. to following March

Oct. to following Jan.

Juliy to Sept.

Jan. to April

Jan. to April

June to Sept.Dry

July to following March

July to Nov.

July to following Jan.

June to following Jan.

July to following April

June to following April

Jan to April

Nov to following March

Dec. to March

Nov. to following April

June to following MarchApril to JuneJuly to Dec.

Sept. to following March

Sept. to following Jan.June to Sept.

Oct. to Dec.

Jan to May

Wet Dry

For more information on El-Nino and La-Nina, go to http://in.columbia.edu/ENSO

ACHIEVEMENT8

ENVIRONMENT9Sept 2014Sept 2014

Moving the mango industry to the next level: a case study of Harumanis in PerlisBy : Dr. Mahmad Nor Jaafar Institute of Sustainable Agrotechnology, UNIVERSITI MALAYSIA PERLIS.

Harumanis Mango is an iconic agriculture product from Perlis, commanding strong demand

and high prices. Now it is time for the industry to embrace new products and adopt better strategies to take it to the next level.

Although Harumanis is well known internationally, Malaysia remains a net importer of this desirable tropical fruit, in fact we are consistently among the world’s top importer of mangoes, bringing in around 25,000-40,000 tonnes annually since the last decade.

Growing Harumanis mango is the obvious choice for smallholder farmers in Perlis as demand and prices continue to soar. In the past couple of years, the demand for Harumanis has far exceeded supply, causing a mango crisis with an exponentially soaring price tag. Going from RM2.50/kg to RM25/kg in just about 10 years, it has not seem to reach the plateau yet.

The short season and inability to meet demand is not by design, rather the result of a clash between the state’s success in creating demand and commercial mango production’s failure to acquire new methods and technology.

Unfortunately, the learning curve of commercial mango production has languished into a technology trap and fell prey to a paradigm paralysis, largely due to inconsistent policy direction and an inadequate follow-through with relevant research and development support.

The current mango industry in Perlis cannot fulfill the demand, and it lacks the institutional capacity to move the industry in sync with other major developments.

In general, the mango industry thrives on small farms characterised with lack of infrastructure, sub-standard technology adoption, low productivity, and inconsistent quality.

This is clearly problematic in terms of meeting the challenges of the new economy, which is a knowledge-innova-tion driven economy. The industry needs a transformational change to move to the next competitive level. Farming has to be less risky, more sophisticated, more

rewarding and more attractive to the younger generation.

Development of sustainable technology

The food and financial (the double FF) crisis of 2008 had been an eye opener. Universiti Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP), which is an engineering-centric academia, has made a bold and decisive move to activate the “third mission” of enhancing the socio-economic standing of local communities by venturing into engineering-centric agriculture extension.

UniMAP is opening up a dedicated research station in its northern campus at Sg. Chuchuh. Extending the harvesting season and improving the fruit quality were the initial mandates to upgrade the Harumanis industry.

UniMAP has mobilised a foray of researchers of intra- and trans-disci-plines to negotiate with nature, control micro-climate, alter agronomic practices, enhance post-harvest handling, and whisper with the science of connectivity. The packaged technology of Mango on Demand, dubbed as ‘7 in 1 Technology’ has been made available for knowledge and profit sharing.

To put it simply, it is the production of mangoes in tropical greenhouses.

Greenhouse, or synonymously known as Controlled Environment Agriculture Production System (CEAPS), minimises risk, increases efficiency, gives higher yield, augments fruit quality, enables market-demand production, enhances better labour distribution, and consequently, making mango production a more viable option.

However, CEAPS requires heavy long-term investment or patient capital, as well as skillful (tech-savvy) farmers who should be trained adequately. Our initial proof of concept of Mango on Demand jives well into the euphoria of change vibrating the state of Perlis to be “Perlis MAJU 2015”. However, making it move is a bigger challenge, and would only happen with a good strategic plan.

Accelerating technology adoption

Beginning with the inception of the idea in 2008 to the proof of concept in experimental field in 2012, it has been seen that the feasibility of producing mangoes on demand is optimistically promising.

A major milestone was achieved when Tuanku Raja Perlis took up this innovation and became the ‘techie’ (the early adopter) of the technology by trying

it on a half-acre model farm, complete with a small modern mango farm infra-structure.

However, moving it across the industry would call for a more strategic approach. A new modus operandi is the application of the triple helix innovation model of Academia – Government –Industry (AGI) collaboration.

In this collaboration, the university blue print must be adjusted for application by the industry while meeting the government’s regulations and aspiration.

Fortunately, the approach has the support of the Northern Corridor Implementing Agency (NCIA) representing the Government, JPB Asia Pacific Sdn Bhd, and industry players to take on this technology to the next level.

For this case, the University provides the premises, the continuous technology back-up, and the intellectual capital. The NCIA ploughs in the investment fund, development guidelines and regulations, while the JPB engages in the production process, including marketing and retraining of workers.

By the end of the year, there will be 50 half-acre greenhouses for premium quality mango production.

Transforming rags to riches: Innovative management and appropriate technologies to eradicate hardcore povertyBy: Mohamad Abd. Manas & Abu Hasan Ishak Technology Promotion & Development Centre, MARDI

AZAM Tani is an innovative project started in 2011 to increase the income of the hardcore poor through economic assistance

projects such as crop planting, fisheries, livestock, processing of agricultural products, agro-based business and agriculture services.

The Federal Government’s Transformation Programme (GTP) was introduced to improve the quality of public sector delivery to achieve vision 2020 and one of the seven National Key Result Areas (NKRA) is to enhance the living standards of low-income households.

Among the low-income key result area initiatives is the AZAM Tani Project which is entrusted to the Ministry of Agriculture and Agro-based Industries (MOA) as Project Champion to be implemented across the states in Peninsular Malaysia.

AZAM is the synonym for AKHIRI ZAMAN MISKIN (Ending the Age of Poverty).

The combination of innovative technology and management allowed Malaysia to decrease poverty rate from 3.8% in 2009 to 1.7% in 2012.

The AZAM Tani project implemented by MARDI managed to increase the economic status of 54% of 1,760 participants. These participants increased their household income by 40% or higher.

The AZAM Tani project has become one of the Key Performance Indicators (KPI) under the MOA scorecard since 2010. Participants of the AZAM Tani project consist of heads and members of hardcore poor households, single mothers, people with disabilities, aborigines and vulnerable groups who were former drug addicts, HIV AIDS and ex-bandits.

The participants are screened for their potentials in terms of their commitments, interests, skills, suitability of the project sites and individual capabilities to carry out the economic activities.

This project is a remarkable new responsibil-ity of the Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute (MARDI) scientists involving social motivation and technology utilisation by the lowest strata of a society.

A key component of this project is implementa-tion of the activities using appropriate technologies suggested by MARDI’s scientists based on partici-pant’s capabilities.

Participants are able to choose project activities easily and quickly according to the local environment and therefore be able to generate income quickly (quick return).

Working on the selected projects, participants

must produce results between three and six months of implementation, provide good returns, produce products or services that are marketable, viable and sustainable.

Data shows that 38% of the participants preferred choice for quick return was processing of agro-based products. Seventeen percent preferred agricultural services which required a small capital while 9% preferred agro-based businesses.

Innovation appropriate technologies

Appropriate technologies used in the project activities refer to technologies that are cheap, easy to learn, suitable for target groups, labour intensive, suitable for small scale production, environmentally friendly and easy to handle and maintain.

The result shows that 54% of the participants successfully increased their incomes. The remaining participants required more training

and motivation to improve their potential. Implementations of technology innovation

and management showed that the percentage of poverty decreased from 3.8% in 2009 to 1.7% in 2012. Statistics show that 75% achieved an income above the poverty level in 2013.

Lessons learnt in implementing Azam Tani had proven to be beneficial to the target groups and can serve as a model for the civil service.

The commitment of participants had been proven to be one of the most important factors contributing to the success of the economic activities of the project.

Different approaches adopted by MARDI and determined by the participants, development of a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for the project by members of a committed task force, infrastruc-ture cost savings and the use of mature planting materials have been effective in determining the success of the project.

Harumanis production under green house

AGROTOURISM 4

SEWING 86

HARDWARE 13

AGRICULTURE SERVICES 211

PROCESSING AGRO-BASED PRODUCTS 478

AGRO-BASED BUSINESS 108

FISHERIES 109

LIVESTOCKS 160

CROPS 71

SUSTAINABLE INNOVATION PROJECTS

APPROPRIATE TECHNOLOGY

Cheap Easy to learn

Suitable for target group

Suitable for small scale

Easy to handle & maintain

Main cluster of project implementation No. of participants

Total participant : 1240

SUCCESS STORY10

SUCCESS STORY11Sept 2014Sept 2014

The inaugural CORRA-GRiSP workshop was held on May 6-7, 2014, with the objective of

creating a systematic inventory for national rice growing strategies of countries in Asia.

Jointly organised by the Council for Partnership on Rice Research in Asia (CORRA) and Global Rice Science Partnership (GRiSP), it was attended

by 40 representatives from CORRA member countries

As a permanent member of CORRA, MARDI was represented by the Director General, Dato’ Dr. Sharif Haron. The Strategic Planning & Innovation Management Department together with the Corporate Interna-tional Communication and Quality Department acted as secretariat.

Expected outputs from the workshop will guide the activities of CORRA and GRiSP, particularly in setting the directions and the allocation of resources in support of global rice research.

The programme agenda included one and a half days of meeting followed by a visit to MARDI. Dr. Azizan Ab. Rashid, MARDI Deputy

Director General of Research received the delegation at the institute.

Dr. Norzihan of CMDV briefed the delegation on the background and research activities of CMDV, and then the group went on a tour of MARDI gallery. As a finale, the delegation was served with a special treat of Durian Udang Merah, a unique variety of the king of fruits.

ASEAN Seed Council Development Meeting Malaysia successfully hosted

the ASEAN Seed Council Development Meeting for

the first time on June 24-26, 2014 in Putrajaya.

MARDI, which was represented by the Planting Materials, Seeds and Livestock Breeds Production Unit (UBB) and the Corporate Interna-tional Communications and Quality Department was given the honour as secretariat.

The meeting was attended by several ASEAN countries such as Brunei, the Philippines, Thailand and Malaysia.

Head of UBB, Dr. Mohammad Selamat b. Madom represented the country while Deputy Director General, MARDI (Technology Com-mercialisation and Transfer), Dr. Umi Kalsum Abu Bakar chaired the meeting.

The main objective of the meeting was to discuss and collect responses and inputs from all ASEAN countries as a step towards the establishment of the ASEAN Seed Council (ASC).

The 35th Asean Ministers on Agriculture and Forestry meeting held on Sep 23-29, 2013 in Kuala Lumpur had decided that Malaysia should spearhead the establishment of the ASC to ensure that all seed produced and traded for the purposes of food production within ASEAN should achieve a high level of quality. The ASC is meant to be an information sharing platform and facilitate technical and economic cooperation among seed producers and industry leaders.

It should also facilitate the har-monisation of rules and regulations governing the industry, encourage research and development of seed

technologies and provide experts in organisational development and management of ASC from the ASEAN member countries which are on the forefront of the industry.

The programme agenda included two days of meeting followed by a one day visit to Sin Seng Huat Sdn Bhd in Puchong, a leader in seed production in Malaysia.

The company produces and distributes high quality vegetable seeds, agrochemicals and organic fetilisers, among other products.

The delegation was also taken on a tour of CMDV MARDI and MARDI Gallery. Dr. Norzihan Abdullah, who manages CMDV, briefed the delegates on their activities.

Proposal for the ASC will be presented at the 36th ASEAN Ministers of Agriculture and Forestry meeting which will be held in Myanmar on Sept 25, 2014.

Participants at the ASEAN Seed Council Development Meeting , June 2014, Putrajaya

Delegations visit Sin Seng Huat Sdn. Bhd., a leader in seed production in Malaysia

Malaysia successfully hosts inaugural CORRA-GRiSP workshop

“Setting the directions for global rice research” - CORRA-GRiSP workshop 2014

EVENTS12 Sept 2014