Oil palm smallholders: Rural folk need roads to progress

KUCHING: Road is the best gift to the rural folk because it opens areas that were once inaccessible and get them to start tilling their idle land for a possible big business venture.
Many rural folk though rich in land are rather poor because of the non existence of roads leading to their land and as such the land are mostly idle and bring them little benefit.
With roads already put in place, the people were encouraged to start planting cash crops particularly oil palm, said one of the successful oil palm smallholders Mengga Mikui.
When met here yesterday Mengga, who has an oil palm estate in Selangau, said if the government was serious in pushing the NKRA initiatives to help the rural folk to improve their livelihood, it was road that they wanted first and foremost.
National Key Result Areas (NKRA) is being championed by Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Dato Sri Idris Jala and initiated by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Najib Tun Razak.
Mengga claimed there was no ‘chicken-and-egg’ situation when it comes to improving the livelihood of the people in general.
“Rural people, especially the Dayaks who are mostly rich in land, are not lazy.
“Give them roads and not only will they start planting crops and vegetables, they will take their produce to the towns to sell,” he said.
He was accompanied by another successful entrepreneur, Mawan Was, who has oil palm estates in Sungai Paoh and Ulu Minus, Sarikei.
Political-conscious Mengga stood as Parti Keadilan Rakyat candidate in Tamin during the 2011 state election.
He lost by 1,292 votes to Barisan Nasional-PRS candidate Joseph Mauh.
He said he was rather fortunate to have started a small plantation early because by the time it brought in returns, the plantation saved him from ‘bankruptcy’ after spending almost all of his fortune in his political adventure.
Losing the election was however not so bad at all because along the way, he made new friends and also managed to advise them to go into oil palm plantation, said Mengga, a former civil servant.
He said he would continue to advise the people, especially friends in the rural areas, not to underestimate the dividends of oil palm venture as it was still the number one cash crop of the nation.


Read more: http://www.theborneopost.com/2012/07/27/oil-palm-smallholders-rural-folk-need-roads-to-progress/#ixzz21y1LvDtP