Uggah concerned about non-Musang King durian seedlings passed off as real McCoy

KUCHING: The issue of certain suppliers supplying non-Musang King durian seedlings to farmers and passing them off as the real thing in the state has cropped up again.

Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah, who is also the Minister of Agriculture, Native Land and Regional Development, wants the deception to end.

“I want those from the department responsible to distribute them to farmers to ensure they are the genuine seedlings. Unscrupulous suppliers are mixing other species to the

Musang King seedlings.

“This had happened before and is happening now due to the great demand,” Uggah said after attending a briefing on the Serian Division Agriculture Development programmes and their progress, held at the Serian district agriculture office here yesterday.

Uggah said dissatisfied farmers were taking to the social media to vent their frustration and disappointment and this had created a poor public perception of the programme and some people would even blame the government for this.

Uggah said the relevant officers must also ensure that suppliers selected to supply the seedlings must have orchards of their own to prevent them from sourcing from unverified sources including from out of the state.

On the same issue, he said courses on how to properly care for the seedlings would be worked out for farmers.

He further urged the relevant officers to engage area elected representatives when distributing the seedlings and when briefing on tree rehabilitation or other related programmes.