Don’t give up on rubber yet, urges Maximus
KOTA MARUDU: Energy, Green Technology and Water Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Dr Maximus Ongkili has assured that the rubber industry is still a relevant investment and can generate profit in the long run.
Speaking at the Knowledge Transfer and Rubber Nursery Handover programme, he said the global market will always need the rubber industry.
Though the price of the commodity has been languishing at a seven-year low, Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) is still investing in the industry because they foresee that the industry will f lourish again in the near future, Maximus said.
Therefore, he urged rubber cultivators not to give up and to have faith in the industry as the government can help in developing and promoting the industry through seminars and training programmes.
“Growing rubber trees is much more suitable for small-scale farmers compared to oil palm as it does not involve constant care,” Maximus explained to the participants at the event held at Pusat Latihan Petani in Kampung Damai near here.
About 200 people from the Kimaragang community who were not registered under the Sabah Rubber Industry Board (LIGS) in Kota Marudu took part in the programme organised by UMS.
According to UMS Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic) Professor Dr Kamaruddin D Mudin, the programme has been conducted since 2014 and it is a joint effort with the Land Development Kimaragang Cooperative (Koperasi Pembangunan Tanah Kimaragang).
Its main objective is to ease the communities’ burden in terms of purchasing rubber seedlings.
Under this programme, which ends this year, the community has been taught to produce their own quality rubber seedlings and to produce quality latex through grafting technique.
In his speech, Kamaruddin said the techniques that were taught in the programme could also be applied to fruit plantations and the floral industry.
Aside from that, the community was also taught about entrepreneurship and the skills needed to manage and organise rubber nurseries in a systematic way.
Also present at the event were the Research and Development Centres of Entrepreneurship UMS director cum programme head Dr Bonaventure Boniface, Kimaragang Association Malaysia president Datuk Janathan Kandok and other community leaders.