Felda settlers association welcome call to diversify crops
A coalition of Felda settlers' associations has welcomed Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad's suggestion to diversify their crops so as to prevent them from being trapped when palm oil and rubber prices fall.
Mazlan Aliman (above), chairperson of Felda NGOs Council, said a soon-to-be-launched plan aimed at addressing Felda settlers' woes would focus on farming crops that could yield results in less than a year.
A coalition of Felda settlers' associations has welcomed Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad's suggestion to diversify their crops so as to prevent them from being trapped when palm oil and rubber prices fall.
Mazlan Aliman (above), chairperson of Felda NGOs Council, said a soon-to-be-launched plan aimed at addressing Felda settlers' woes would focus on farming crops that could yield results in less than a year.
"All this while we did not optimise our land. Even if there was such an effort under Felda, it was at the minimum level.
"In other words, there was no strategic planning for (agricultural) development on these lands," he said when contacted by Malaysiakini today.
Yesterday, Mahathir suggested that modern farms in Selangor could serve as a model to address the practice of monocultural farming, particularly in the oil palm sector.
The premier stressed the need for mixed farming during his visit to several farms in Klang, Kajang and Banting a video of which was uploaded onto his official Facebook page.
Mazlan, who is also chairperson of Farmers' Organisation Authority, said the mixed farming method would enable Felda settlers to generate income without depending on government assistance.
"Maybe they still can't get the whole picture but once we start explaining (on mixed farming) they will be able to accept it. Because we can no longer use the old approach of depending on Felda to manage everything.
"Felda has to provide them loans to sustain their cost of living every time they go through replanting process. So, we need to have a new programme to help them generate income," he said.
Mazlan dismissed the perception that it would not be easy for Felda settlers to diversify their crops at this stage.
He said even if there were are settlers who rejected the idea, it would most probably be due to an age factor as most of first-generation Felda settlers are now in their 60s and above.
"Most of them now (who work on the plantations) are from the second and third generations. Some of them live in the rural areas of Felda and do not have much job choices.
"So they need projects. They would need income to sustain their daily living. So this concept (diversification) that we are introducing is for the second and third generations."
