The Malaysian Cocoa Board (LKM), an agency under the Plantation Industries and Commodities Ministry (KPK), plans to help farmers open an area of about 200 hectares for cocoa cultivation this year.
“Currently, the country’s total cocoa plantation area stands at 5,985 hectares, with 3,444 hectares in Sabah, 1,454 hectares in Sarawak and 1,087 hectares in the Peninsula.
The session was held at the residence of Zulkifli Romli in Kampung Kubang Menerung, a cocoa smallholder who has been cultivating cocoa since 2015 through the LKM cocoa development programme.
Zulkifli is one of the 14 cocoa farmers in Kedah, and the state has 4.38 hectares of cocoa plantations which are found in Kubang Pasu and Padang Terap districts.
The ministry said the deputy prime minister also visited a cocoa bean processing site.
At the session the smallholders also highlighted the challenges they face including the high agricultural input cost which has resulted in limited use of fertilisers and the issue of lack of youth involvement to continue operating the cocoa farms. — BERNAMA
