November-December , 2022 | @ Forest

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BY DR JUJU NAKASHA JAAFAR Sector Committee for Urban Farming ( UP ) MAPAN ( Malaysian Association of Public Advocacy for Nature )

Background

Population in Malaysia has increased from 33,199,993 in 2020 to 33,938,221 in 2022 , with a minimum of a one per cent increase yearly . The rise in food production should support the increase in population .

As a developing country with limited experts and technology , it is a big challenge for Malaysians to increase the food supply . Other than the population , raw materials prices have also increased tremendously , and Malaysian categorised under B40 and below are mainly affected .

Society may eat fewer meals or smaller portions or eat processed foods such as instant noodles and other canned products to survive . It has led to an unhealthy diet which affected our health services . Furthermore , the price of vegetables in the market is increasing , resulting from the import cost of fertilisers , pesticides , herbicides , planting media and the currency itself .

For example , a family of four would spend around RM100-RM150 a month to buy vegetables . But in the current situation , they have to double the spending cost .

It is predicted that the situation will become more challenging in the future . Due to this reason , the government , agencies , industries , and universities are now giving much attention to this matter .

One of the strategies to help the community is promoting urban agriculture . Agriculture activities previously done in rural areas have now changed its trend to urban areas .

At the community level , crops such as water spinach , amaranth , mustard , okra , chilli , eggplant and lemon grass are among the popular crops planted on urban farms .

Urban Farming - Fertigation

For the community to conduct urban agriculture activities , they must get exposure to the techniques in the urban farm . The limitation in urban areas , such as space , soil fertility , location and time , can be countered with the knowledge , skills and technology given to the community .

Commonly-used cultivation systems in urban farming are fertigation , raised beds , hydroponic towers , nutrient film technique and deep-water culture . These systems are practical for the community and match the limitations mentioned above .

However , to choose the suitable method , the community must decide based on the type of property they live in and the initial investment . Individuals living in apartments can choose either the indoor or outdoor hydroponic system with a vertical arrangement on their balcony or inside their unit , respectively .

The light requirement can be fulfilled with the support of LED light for plants . However , suppose those staying in apartments wish to conduct urban farming as a group community . In that case , they can use the space between the blocks , entrances , and parking sides as plots for urban agriculture .

The community can share the cost and achieve higher production as more plants can be planted .

Moreover , the activity of urban farming can be a source of side income for the community . For income

Moreover , the activity of urban farming can be a source of side income for the community . For income generation , the community can sell the harvested vegetables and seedlings and repackage agricultural produce .” generation , the community can sell the harvested vegetables and seedlings and repackage agricultural produce .

Agriculture inputs that the community can sell by repackaging are seeds , germination medium , soil mixture and fertiliser . For example , seedlings germinated using peat moss on the germination tray can be sold at RM50 to RM70 per tray , with a cost of RM7 to RM10 per tray .

The repackaging of chicken manure can be sold at RM8 / kg , with a cost of RM1.20 / kg . Nonetheless , the skills in creating more products in urban farm communities must be guided by external parties to help the community generate side income .

Affordable Technology

Another way to help the community is by providing them with knowledge and skills in technology . Most of the community farms in Malaysia use manual methods compared to smart farming . It is due to the high initial cost involved during the startup .

However , to get the young generation involved in urban farming , the technology ’ s price must be affordable . It requires decisive intervention from researchers ( universities , industries , and institutes ) to counter this problem .

It needs interdisciplinary areas to build practical , affordable technology for the community and is in line with the current modernisation . – @ Forest