Sweat Potato, Ideal Alternative For Tobacco

Source from:  A Special Report by Noor Hammad Wariman BACHOK, July 17 (Bernama) 07/18/2006

Bachok is a Kelantan district famed for its abundance of peat land, suitable for tobacco cultivation. In this district alone, there are some 700 tobacco farmers and curers operating on more than 2,000 hectares of land. With introduction of the Asean Free Trade Area these farmers and curers face stiff competition from imported tobacco, creating a significant dent in their earnings. However the Malaysian Agriculture Research and Development Institute (Mardi) has given them fresh hope. Mardi had carried out a study in Telong here and the outcome reveals that sweat potato or "ubi stelo" to locals, thrives well on peat soil. Sweat potato is a lucrative money-spinning crop as it can be turned into various snacks like crackers and fries besides being a key ingredient for the making of noodles, biscuits and nuggets as well as health drink. PLANTING TECHNOLOGY The outcome of the study has paved the way for the farmers in this tobacco land to switch to planting sweat potato as an alternative to tobacco as well as creating a robust-style downstream industry for the crop. Apart from coming out with the recommended fertilisers, planting schedule as well as pesticide and crop disease management, Mardi has devised a technology that is able to plant sweat potato seeds within four hours on each hectare of farmland in contrast to the conventional method of 10 days for each hectare. Bachok Member of Parliament Datuk Dr Awang Adek Hussin, who is also the Deputy Finance Minister, called on the farmers to cultivate sweat potato on the commercial basis using the Mardi technology. "They can venture into this new industry be setting up a potato-processing mill as the earning generated by the sweat potato products is on par with that of tobacco". Dr Awang Adek said even though some of the tobacco farmers and curers have switched to planting sweat potato, their number is still small. "The farming industry has huge potential but it should be done on the integrated and commercial basis covering manpower, modern technology and marketing aspects. "For those who have been in this tobacco-planting sector for so long, they have all these and should venture into cultivating sweat potato," he said. BUSINESS PARTNERS According to him, they could look for business partners to set up a processing mill as the soil is also suitable for various crops. He said based on the institute's research at Telong here, sweet potato has huge potentials as a source of raw material in the food processing and health drinks industry. He said study done by Mardi showed that for each hectare of land, the harvest can yield up to 25 metric tonne. The crop which can be processed into a health drink has the potential for export to Japan, Taiwan and South Korea. In this way, he said, it could help the government to reduce the country's food import which now totalled RM12 billion compared to RM7 billion for food export. Dr Awang Adek said the peat land in Bachok which was previously believed to be only suitable for tobacco cultivation by right can be utilised for the growing of other crops such as sweet potato, corn, kenaf, roselle and watermelon. SUITABLE FOR ALL CROPS He said sweet potato grown on peat land produces higher yield than for example those planted on former mining lands. "Alhamdulillah (Praise to God), technology advancement has proved that peat land can be grown with whatever crop and not only tobacco," he said. Mardi's Director-General, Dr Abdul Shukor Abdul Rahman said the physical condition of peat land augurs well for the sweet potato cultivation. He explained that the loose soil enables air to circulate better and helps with the formation and growth of the sweet potato besides making easier to use machinery. Based on Mardi's study at Telong, the land is normally inundated during the monsoon season and this can help in reducing pest attack and the spread of diseases. Todate, Mardi has proposed several varieties of sweet potato to be grown by farmers such as the Gendut variety in 1994 to be used fresh and the Jalomas and Telong declared in 2000 as the variety for processing as they have higher dry contents. Several new species of sweet potato that contained high beta carotene have been identified and are at final stage of study by Mardi. According to him, Mardi has come up with a complete package of crops cultivation management using machineries including the preparation of cultivated area, making of bunds and crop operation and harvesting that can reduce cost between 30 to 40 percent. He said Mardi would also introduce a farming system that include mixed farming and crop rotation to maximise the usage of land. Enditem