19/07/2012 (Borneo Post) - The state government has been asked to carefully research the rearing of cattle at oil palm plantations to ensure the proposed business is successful.

Pending assemblywoman Violet Yong said she welcomed the state government’s approach to increase livestock production in Sarawak.

However, she said without adequate studies on the integration of livestock and oil palm plantations, the project could fail to take off.

“With the bad experience the country has experienced in the National Feedlot Corporation scandal, the state should not repeat the mistake,” she told a press conference yesterday.

Citing recent work by Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas), Yong said the team found little research conducted in Sarawak to demonstrate the benefits of livestock integration on soil, crop and livestock productivity.

She said future projects should also involve smallholders not just Sarawak Land Consolidation and Rehabilitation Authority (Salcra), Federal Land Development Authority (Felda) and Federal Land Consolidation and Rehabilitation Authority (Felcra) plantations.

On Sunday, Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Alfred Jabu Numpang said he hoped the Sarawak Economic Development Corporation (SEDC) would consider rearing cattle in oil palm plantations through smart partnerships with large plantation firms.

The Modernisation of Agriculture Minister said this could help the state reach self-sufficiency in beef as well as become a beef exporter.