KUALA LUMPUR: The National Association of Smallholders (NASH) has requested that the government leverage on its members’ co-operatives in implementing rural development.
In a statement today, NASH president Datuk Aliasak Ambia said: “The government has to properly consider the co-operative as a vehicle for rural development.”
“Through co-operatives, oil palm and rubber smallholders are better able to leverage on economies of scale in their businesses,” he said.
NASH members are part of several co-operatives all over the country, including the high profiled Koperasi Permodalan Felda.
Before smallholders’ co-operatives were established, oil palm and rubber smallholders had very low acreage. Today, their land areas are comparable to estates owned by big plantation companies.
In view of the country celebrating its 100th anniversary of commercial oil palm planting, Aliasak noted that smallholders’ interests are mainly focused on upstream activities of tending to the trees.
“The government, in giving due recognition to smallholders’ co-operatives, would facilitate our members to invest in businesses throughout the palm oil and rubber value chain,” he said.
“We believe that smallholders are better able to contribute to the economy and in the longer term be part of the National Transformation 2050 (TN50) via the co-operatives platform,” he added.
Last week, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, at the celebratory launch held at Tennamaram Estate, announced an additional RM510 million oil palm replanting budget for independent smallholders to apply from now until end-2020.
Aliasak noted smallholders are grateful for the additional allocation as it would help ease their financial burden and also raise national productivity at the fields.