Plantation Industry: Challenges Faced by Smallholders

摘要

Smallholders are farmers who own land less than 100 acres (40 ha). They play a major role in agriculture production in Malaysia where all foods such as rice, vegetables, fruits, field crops and animal products are mainly produced by them. Even commodity crops namely rubber, cocoa and pepper are produced mainly by smallholders. Oil palm is the only crop where the plantation sector plays a major role. The issues and challenges faced by smallholders include uneconomical farm size, low productivity, lowincome, inadequate extension services, lack of planting materials, lack of capital and inadequate marketing systems. The government has set up about 40 institutions mainly under four ministries to improve the living standards of the smallholders. Smallholders have benefited tremendously from the programmes carried out by these institutions. However, the basic factors of small uneconomical farm size, low productivity and inadequate marketing systems must be addressed to ensure that smallholders are within the high income group.