14 May 2002 (Businessn Times) -MALAYSIA’S estimated 1.2 millionsmallholders may fully consolidate as a single force at least by 2007 as apreparation to face fierce competition brought about by globalisation.Agriculture Minister Datuk Dr Mohd Effendi Norwawi said the consolidationwave in Malaysia has begun but it will be between three and five yearsbefore all smallholders fully realise the need to consolidate.“To date, a total of 200,000ha farms involving 160,000 farmers in 4,500projects have paved the way by consolidating,” Mohd Effendi told reportersin Kuala Lumpur yesterday.“Of the 4,500 projects, about 660 involving 20,000 farmers have undergonethe ISO 9002 accreditation process.“I admit that it is not going to be an easy task consolidatingsmallholders but hopefully these 20,000 farmers can lead the way and set aprecedence to others,” said Mohd Effendi.Earlier, he opened a seminar on challenges facing smallholders all overthe world as they move towards globalisation.Efforts to consolidate smallholders’ plots of land, which are mostly lessthan 1ha with crops such as rubber, oil palm, fruits and poultry, have notbeen easy to be implemented.This is due to the fact that smallholders are generally comfortable withtheir old agricultural, management and planting methods, causing them tobe reluctant or slow in accepting changes.Furthermore, various government ministries and agencies have not beenstreamlined to merge the smallholding sector.Rubber smallholders, for example, are under the care of the RuralDevelopment Ministry but the commodity itself comes under the purview ofthe Primary Industries Ministry.Furthermore, a smallholder’s land may have several benificiaries whichcomplicate matters should the titleholder pass away.“Paddy farmers, for example, may hang on to the subsidy mentality becausethey knows the Government will help them should prices fall.“But I don’t see them surviving if they hang on to traditional methodsbecause globalisation will set in and they have to compete with otherpaddy producers,” said Mohd Effendi.He added that the only way smallholders can compete in the world marketagainst large, efficient and professionally-run global companies is bygrouping together.“Scattered farms which merge as a single farm with a central managementemploying the best agricultural practices, technology, mechanisation andmanagement can increase productivity, quality and reduce cost,” MohdEffendi said.He added that the Government will not rest on its laurels and will furthercontinue to step up efforts to upgrade the sector, which includesapplication of biotechnology, precision agricultural production andcontrolled-environment farming.

(The informations and opinions expressed in this article represent theviews of the author only. They should not be seen as necessarilyreflecting the views of Palm News)