NIBONG TEBAL: The Department of Agriculture (DoA) and Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) have entered into an agreement for an Erosion and Sediment Control Plan (ESCP) guidelines for agricultural activities in the highlands, including Special Management Areas (SMA).
DoA director-general Datuk Zahimi Hassan said the guidelines would ensure more sustainable agricultural activities in the highlands, such as Cameron Highlands, Kinta and Lojing.
He said there was a need for more intensive land management in the highlands as they were at risk of erosion and landslides which could bring about environmental pollution and tragedies such as flash floods, claiming lives and destroying properties.
"Early prevention of erosion is extremely important for farmers, especially in the highlands. With the guidelines, it will also help avert any tragedies, all because there is a lack of adherence to standard operating procedures (SOP)," he said after a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signing ceremony between the DoA and USM at the latter's engineering campus in Transkrian here today.
Present were USM vice-chancellor Professor Datuk Dr Faisal Rafiq Mahamd Adikan, USM engineering campus director Professor Dr Nor Azizi Zakaria and the DoA's Land Resources Management Department director Normaizah Ismail @ Manaf.
Zahimi and Normaizah signed the MoU on behalf of the department while Faisal and Nor Azizi on behalf of USM.
Zahimi said the collaboration with USM was for a period of five years, which could even extend beyond that.
Meanwhile, Faisal said it would take them a year to come out with the draft of the guidelines.
"It will then be debated before any decision on whether to adopt it or not," he added.
Not Azizi, meanwhile, said there was no specific cost involved in the drafting of the guidelines, stressing that both the department and university would source for the necessary grants.
"This is nothing new to us as we have been working with the department to come out with a general ESCP, which is currently in use by the government.
"It is just that this is specifically for the highlands," he added.