09/04/2009 (The Star Online), Kuala Lumpur - The National Smallholders Association (NASH), which represents over 400,000 smallholders nationwide, said the delivery of government funds and technical expertise to smallholders has been inefficient.

President Datuk Alisak Ambia has called for the setting up of an independent committee chaired by state agriculture excos with the participation of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) as members to monitor and evaluate the development of smallholders in the country.

“Our members claim that some of the government funds for fertilisers, seedlings and replanting disseminated via various government agencies do not fully reach the recipients at the ground level,” he told StarBiz recently.

The contribution of smallholders to the country’s plantation sector should not be underestimated especially in sectors such as oil palm, rubber and cocoa, Alisak said.

To date, smallholders contributed about 94% of the country’s total rubber production, 52% of total palm oil production and 75% of total cocoa output.

“It is important to ensure that smallholders continue to efficiently produce higher-yield crops to enable local agriculture commodities to remain competitive both locally and abroad,” Alisak added.

Smallholders were often perceived as inefficient given their low crop yield, he noted, adding that this was due to lack of good agriculture practice as well as improper management skills.

Local rubber smallholders currently produce an average of about 1,100kg of latex per hectare a year compared with a potential production of about 2,500kg.

The current average crude palm oil production among smallholders is about 10 to 15 tonnes per hectare a year versus a potential yield of 20 to 30 tonnes.

For cocoa, smallholders produce half a tonne to one tonne per hectare per year against a potential of about two to four tonnes.

Alisak also strongly urged the Government to expand spending on the education of smallholders, especially in the area of smallholdings management, noting that “the fund allocated to government agencies for such services is insufficient.”

He suggested the setting up of training centres in the northern, southern and eastern regions of Peninsular Malaysia to educate smallholders to cultivate oil palm, rubber and cocoa trees in a more organised manner.