By DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, Jan 21: The Johor government is looking to Sarawak as an example in its efforts to strengthen the development of the black pepper industry in the state.
Johor Agriculture, Agro-based Industry and Rural Development Committee chairman Datuk Zahari Sarip said this was following the announcement of the 2025 Budget by the Johor Menteri Besar, Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi, which allocated RM500,000 for the development of black pepper.
According to him, Sarawak was chosen because black pepper cultivation in the State is carried out individually, not by large companies.
“Therefore, it is suitable as an example to implement the black pepper cultivation programme in Johor, where we want to start it on a small scale.
“The RM500,000 allocation will be used to develop 10 hectares of land for pepper cultivation in Johor,” he told reporters during a working visit to the Malaysian Pepper Board (MPB) today, as reported by TVS.
He added that currently, Johor only has about 20 hectares of land for pepper cultivation, involving around 100 farmers.
Black pepper production is currently around 78 metric tonnes per year, which is still small compared to the total import of black pepper from abroad in Peninsular Malaysia which reaches 3,000 tonnes per year.
“This is a great opportunity for Johor to work on black pepper cultivation. We hope that this visit can help us develop a pepper cultivation programme in Johor,” he said.
Meanwhile, MPB director-general Vincent Sawat stated that his party welcomed this collaboration and supported efforts in developing the pepper industry, especially in Johor.
“This is also part of our strategy to develop the pepper industry in Malaysia. This morning’s discussion (January 21) will be an input in formulating a programme under the 13th Malaysia Plan (13MP),” he stressed.
Earlier, in this program, Zahari also spent time visiting the processing factory and Research and Development (R&D) division at MPB, as well as pepper farms in Kampung Rejoi, Bengoh Resettlement Scheme (BRS) and Kampung Begu, Padawan. — DayakDaily
