Planter advocates vanilla for S’wak farmers
KUCHING: The government should encourage Sarawakians to plant vanilla, which has high commercial value compared to more ‘ traditional’ cash crops like pepper.
A vanilla planter, Liew Kuet Kong, said as a way to help Sarawakians to have good income, the government should come up with a budget and set up a committee to help local farmers promote and export vanilla pods to Europe.
“The current price for vanilla pods in Europe is RM1,672 per kilogramme, which is 100 times higher than white pepper. I strongly believe that Sarawakians should earn the money,” he told The Borneo Post when met at his farm at Batu Kawah here yesterday.
Liew, who has planted about 200 vanilla trees on his farm, said even though planting vanilla vine is “as simple as planting sweet potato”, farmers are currently having difficulties selling their vanilla pods.
“In 2014, I harvested a lot of vanilla pods but I could not turn them into cash for living expenses. Currently, my vanilla vines are almost growing in wild stage and still producing pods once the flowers are pollinated.
“March and April are the flowering seasons.”
Liew said the most commonly asked question when he encouraged farmers to plant vanilla was ‘ where can I sell my vanilla pods that have been harvested?’
“Therefore, government effort always plays an important role to promote vanilla pods as a commercial crop and to bring better income for them.”
Liew said despite the viability and high returns that vanilla plantations could potentially generate, the government agencies he approached did not seem interested.
“No budget and not their ( purview) are their common excuses,” he added.
Liew said introducing the vanilla plant to hardworking farmers is like showing them where and how to have a good catch of fish.
Therefore, he said this can help the government to address poverty, as well as reduce ruralurban migration and many other related social problems.
He pointed out that there are two types of vanilla pods, namely Planifolia Vanilla and Tahiti Vanilla. Planifolia Vanilla, he said, is commonly sold in Europe while Tahiti Vanilla is commonly
The current price for vanilla pods in Europe is RM1,672 per kilogramme, which is 100 times higher than white pepper. I strongly believe that Sarawakians should earn the money.
planted in Asia, particularly India.
“Tahiti Vanilla requires very little curing work when compared to Planifolia Vanilla.”
Liew, who has been planting vanilla since 2004, said after learning from mistakes, he found that vanilla is very easy and suitable to be planted in Sarawak.
Additionally, he said the cost to plant vanilla is very minimal, unlike other countries which have to contruct green houses and sheds that are very costly.
“( For me), I just attached the vanilla plant to a fruit tree or gaharu tree of ceiling height (easy to pollinate) will do.”
According to him, vanilla can adapt to a wide range of soil types rich in humus and having good drainage, and that a warm and humid climate in Sarawak is ideal for vanilla plantations.
“For vanilla vines to produce flowers, plenty of sunshine and overhung of vines are very crucial. Manual pollination is a must for a vanilla flower to turn into vanilla pod, and it takes about nine months to mature.
“Once it is matured, the pod will turn brown and drop for Tahiti Vanilla. Farmers just have to pick up those pods and keep them in a well-ventilated room for the curing process. It is very simple.”
Liew said he had written a letter to Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas, who is also Minister of Modernisation of Agriculture, Native Land and Regional Development,in June on the suitability of vanilla to be planted in Sarawak, but had yet to receive a reply.
Liew Kuet Kong, vanilla planter