HIGH petrol prices and living costs have driven some Sarawak farmers back to the land … and they are quite happy about it too.

Prices of agriculture commodities have gone up with crops like rubber, pepper, cocoa, maize and oil palm making a comeback and fetching better prices.

There is a rush for land as farmers, who once drifted to town to find employment, are going back to their old farms and orchards, according to agriculture scientist and businessman Yong Hua Ying.

Pepper is also making a comeback, enjoying a 50-fold increase in prices. Some workers are even giving up their jobs to tap rubber.

Agriculture can be lucrative business and there are no better times to get into it than now with a mini boom on.

“There is a reverse cycle — after 30 to 50 years — for the good news to return to farming. The good times are back for those who want to go into agriculture to make farming a viable enterprise,” he noted.

Farmers who once went to the towns looking for employment, are flocking back in droves to their abandoned rubber plantations and orchards.

“Many rural people who gave up on their plots, are moving back to tapping rubber. Now, you see a reverse trend of a shortage of labourers in the towns,” Yong added.

“Today, if you pay the old wage of RM20 per day for construction or plantation work, you may not find any workers — most now prefer working in their own farms because they can make better income growing cash crops.”

He said more people should be encouraged to grow rubber because of the high latex price which had gone up RM1 to RM5 or RM7 — a big jump.

“Moreover, due to global oil price hikes, crops like oil palm have grown in stature as their demand is multiplied due to a shift in focus to bio-fuel production,” Yong added.

“This can be translated into great economic returns for the rural folks, most of whom are farmers.”

However, he pointed out that all this good news was diluted by the increase in prices of fertilisers and the government could help by subsidising the small croppers.

He also said in Sarawak, almost 80 to 90 per cent of the people depended on the land for a living or to venture into commercial agriculture.

“Right now, we should encourage more local people to grow rubber due to the high price of latex. Also, latex is easy to preserve and prepare and the rubber sheets are easy to transport to the market.”

Yong, managing director of a company called Maxigrow (Borneo) Sdn Bhd, noted there was even good price for rubberwood which could be used for making furniture while old trees or moribund rubber could be treated by applying the chemical ethephon or latex stimulants to increase the latex load.

Rubber trees, chopped down wholesale about 10 years ago in places like Sri Aman and Betong when prices fell, could be re-grown from new seedling clones as there were still pockets of old trees around which could be tapped, he said.

In the Rajang Basin areas like in Sarikei and Bintangor, Chinese farmers have abandoned the rubber trees they planted years ago but they could still return to their gardens as there is now a high premium on land.

“People want to plant crops like oil palm and they are also serious about rubber. We hope the government can help the small holders increase their overall production,” Yong suggested.

Take the example of office worker Jacob Sandau who supplements his income by going back to his farm to tap rubber during his off-days. This can earn him an extra RM100 per day to offset expenses for food and petrol.

“A lot of rural people like me are tapping rubber now either part or full time as the price is much better —about RM7 per kg. Previously, it fetched only RM1 plus.

“Farming is much better now but we have to bear in mind costs of food like flour, bread and rice are going up and farmers also face higher costs of fertilisers,” Jacob said.

The recently-introduced Jatropa crops can also be planted by the river, creating jobs for the riverine folks. The jatropa plant which can used as a hedge, has the advantage of preventing soil erosion.

Yong, trained in the technological aspect of agricultural production such as collecting data on agriculture chemicals, fertilisers and seeds, said the current boom in agriculture is exciting for farmers in the state as there is a big price jump, stemming from increased production and the rising economy in the agriculture sector.

Yong, who was employed by a California-based firm from 1997 to 2002 to cover Asia, said there was a great demand for oil palm to be made into end-products like cooking oil which is distilled in the US to produce bio-fuel.

He noted that in Sarawak, there was a great demand to grow temperate crops and a great potential to export crops like cabbage, celery, leek, carrots, tomatoes, asparagus, sweet pepper (bell pepper), cauliflower and brocolli.

He said there were ideal places to grow these temperate crops such as the Bario Highlands and Ba Kelalan in the Miri highlands.

He added that there were a number of small-holders managing oil palm in Kuching and Sri Aman and they could also go into joint ventures with Bumiputera farmers to start agricultural businesses.