CHAPTER 5 : AGRICULTURAL PRACTICES IN MALAYSIA

INTRODUCTION

* Agriculture contributions in economy  growth :
   * 1957 : 46% GDO; 80.3% employment
   * 2010 : 7.52% GDP; 11.8% employment

HISTORY DEVELOPMENT OF MALAYSIAN AGRICULTURE

During pre independence

Post Independence :

Government set up
   

CHARACTERISTICS OF MALAYSIAN AGRICULTURE

Agriculture in Malaysia makes up twelve percent of the nation's GDP. Sixteen percent of the population of Malaysia is employed through some sort of agriculture. Large-scale plantations were established by the British. These plantations opened opportunity for new crops such as rubber (1876), palm oil (1917), and cocoa (1950). A number of crops are grown for domestic purpose such as bananas, coconuts, durian, pineapples, rice and rambutan.

1. Estate   

    - Highly commercialised

    - Efficiently managed by professionals 

    - Land larger than 40.5 ha

    - Owned by private companies or public land development agencies

    - Such as palm oil, rubber and cocoa

2. Small holder

    - Less commercialised

    - Average farm size 1.45 ha

    - Crops are rice, fruits and vegetables

A) INDUSTRIAL CROPS

     - Oil palm (Elaeis guianeensis)              - Coffee 

     - Rubber (Hevea brasiliensis)                 - Sugarcane

     - Rice (Oryza sativa)                               - Tea

     - Coconut (Cocus nucifera)                     - Fruits

     - Cocoa (Theobroma cacao)                    - Vegetables

     - Pineapple (Ananas comosus)

B) LIVESTOCK

     Non-ruminant : Poultry and swine 

       Animals with digestive systems that have a simple stomach structure.

     Ruminant : Cow, dairy and goat.

       Ruminants usually have a stomach divide into four compartments where it is called as:

          a. rumen

          b. refriculum

          c. omosum

          d. obomasum

     

     Fisheries and Aquaculture 

       Aquaculture is a farming of aquatic organisms including fish, mollusks, crustaceans and aquatic plants.