Caroline Chong
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Re:grape planatation /farm - 2006/11/22 13:56
Hi! It is nice to know that somebody is looking for commercial vineyard or grape plantations in Cameron Highlands. But unfortunately, from the past until present, nobody is willing to develop a commercial grape plantations in Cameron Highlands.
All the grape plantations in Cameron Highlands are in very small size and they are not even fit to be considered as a plantation or vineyard. This is because they are either plant in MARDI Agro Park in Tanah Rata as experimental crop or the grape is planted in Cactus Valley as ornamental crops. You have no chance to pick or see the grapevine produce large amount of grapes.
It is very saddened to see that the farmers in Cameron Highlands hardly try any new crops throughout these few decades. They only want to plant crops that are easy to thrive and good for market sales. They are too coward and too timid to emulate Taiwanese farmers.
When I stayed in Taiwan, the weather was much more humid than Malaysia and the rainfall is as heavy as Malaysia too. Sometimes,the rainfall is horrible than Malaysia due to typhoon. Even if you keep your paper cert inside a file holder and keep inside the cupboard for a substantial period of time. It will get mouldy. So the myth of planting grape under humid and wet weather is not true.
When I stayed in Taiwan, the weather was much more humid than Malaysia and the rainfall is as heavy as Malaysia too. Sometimes,the rainfall is horrible than Malaysia due to typhoon. Even if you keep your paper cert inside a file holder and keep inside the cupboard for a substantial period of time. It will get mouldy. So the myth of planting grape under humid and wet weather is not true.
Besides, Taiwan mountain areas or generally the whole province is enjoying strong breeze all year round. This is simply because it is en exposed island that is facing directly in front of the windy Pacific Ocean. But Taiwanese farmers still managed to plant many kind of new crops that are supposed to fail in humid weather like grape, peach, orange, olive or even Arabian dates (but Arabian dates is still under experimental level).
Don't forget that Taiwan has frequent earthquake and strong typhoon. Due to this reason, farmers in Taiwan always face a lot of obstacles and failures in trying out new crops or even maintain the traditional crops. Furthermore, they hardly get any assistant from the government. But they never give up, they suffered mass losses but their preseverance always overcome failure and eventually they reached triumphant result. Besides, a lot of farmers in Taiwan are not highly educated too. They speak Hokkien and very poor in Mandarin or not able to speak English at all. But they are willing to learn and progress.
But farmers in Cameron Highlands is nothing but a bunch of weakling cowards and 100% profit and greedy oriented farmers. They must make sure their profit is doubled, tripled or even higher or else they are unwilling to try out new crops. But never mind, the world is getting more globalised and their timid and cowardly greedy attitude will eventually kill them (farmers of Cameron Highlands) along the way. It is only a matter of time.
Same thing goes too many low land farmers. That is why I forced my father to try out new crops whether he like it or not at his fruit plantation at the foothill of Gunung Ledang. I force him to plant some new species of grapes and raspberry that are more suitable for Malaysian weather under experimental scale first before we do it in large scale. I hope I will try new crops in the future. My father does not like it at all, but I do not care. He can jump up and down but I will prove him wrong.
So I hope Ministry Of Agriculture will do something in order to change the mindset of farmers especially the farmers in Cameron Highlands.
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