CHAPTER 5 : AGRICULTURE PRACTICES IN MALAYSIA

                                             SCENARIO MALAYSIA AGRICULTURAL

• TOTAL LAND AREA = 33 million ha
• AGRICULTURAL AREA = 6.6 million ha (20% of  total area)
• INDUSTRIAL CROP = oil palm, rubber, cocoa, tobacco and pepper occupy about 77% of total  agricultural land
• OTHER CROPS = paddy, fruit, vegetables and coconut- cover 16% of total agricultural land

tobacco

rubber

oil palm

paddy

fruit

vegetables

                                               AGRICULTURAL SECTOR IN MALAYSIA

1) ESTATE SUB-SECTOR

• holding more than 100 acres ( 40.5 ha)
• highly commercialized and efficiently managed
• owned by private companies, public-listed corporate entities or public land development agencies
• totally involved in the production of industrial crops such as oil palm, rubber, cocoa and pineapples.

2) SMALLHOLDER SUB-SECTOR

• average farm size is about 1.45 ha and owned by individual farmers
• collective acreage of land operated by 1,033,065 farmers amounting to 75% of the total area under agricultural
• less commercialized and less efficiently managed
• main contributors to food crop production as well as industrial crop production

                         SCENARIO OF THE NATIONAL AGRICULTURAL SECTOR

  1) AFTER INDEPENDENT

• Malaysian an agricultural nation
• Economic activity over dependent on agriculture & mining
• Contribution to GDP, 1957: agricultural sector = 46%
• Total work force, 1966: agricultural sector = 80.3%

    2)  NEW MILLENNIUM ERA

• Malaysian well known as producer of manufacturing products
• Contribution to GDP , 2003: agricultural sector = 8.45%
• Total work force, 2003 = agricultural sector = 14.3%

                                         AGRICULTURAL SECTOR IN MALAYSIA

                    1)  MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE & AGRO-BASED INDUSTRY

                                                        FOOD SECTOR

crop

livestock

fisheries

                            2)   MINISTRY OF PRIMARY INDUSTRY & COMMODITIES

                                                  INDUSTRIAL COMMODITIES

palm oil

rubber

cocoa

wood

timber

                                                         NATIONAL AGRICULTURE POLICY

       Since 1984, three National Agricultural Policy (NAP) were formulated to develop the agricultural sector :                        

1. Emphasis on NAP 1 (1984-1991) :- To develop the export oriented sector 

• abundant labor force
• focus on expansionary economic policy on export crop such as oil palm and cocoa
• adequate land resources
• commodity/plantation (palm oil/cocoa)
• government invested heavily on infrastructure, institutional building, new land development
• for oil palm & cocoa, in-situ development to resolve uneconomic farm size & low 
• productivity among small holders

      2.   Emphasis on NAP 2 (1992-1997)

            

• increasing productivity, efficiency & competitiveness
•  increasing land areas for palm oil (plantation crop)
• development of agro-based industry

      3.   Emphasis on NAP 3 (1998-2010)

• increasing the competitiveness of the agricultural sector
• maximizing income through optimum utilization of resources, increasing agriculture  contribution to national GDP and increasing income of producers

                                                                    POLICY TRUST

• Increasing agricultural production including new sources of growth with greater private sector participation
• Expanding agro-based processing activities & product diversification
• Strengthening marketing and global networking
• Enhancing incomes of smallholder, farmers and fisherman
• Improving the service delivery system

                                                              POTENTIAL FRUIT CROPS

            

                                                                 INDUSTRIAL CROP

Oil palm

• Largest planted crop in Malaysia
• 39% for palm oil production 
• 44% for exports
• Origin : Sierra Leone, Africa
• Harvested at 25-30 months after planting
• Economic life span in 20 years

•                                                rubber

• First major plantation crop

• Introduced in 1877, from Amazon Basin,Brazil

• Dominant plantation for 80 years

• Second major crop in the country

• 97% planted by smallholder

rice

• 3rd largest planted crop in the country
• Mainly in Peninsular Malaysia at 8 granary areas

coconut

• 4th largest crop in the company

• demand for local & overseas

• used for skin care

• value added products to rejuvenate the coconut industry

cocoa

• Most planting areas in Sabah
• Processing in Peninsular Malaysia
• Planting area reducing, processing increasing
• 5th largest cocoa processor in the world