Organic farming moving at slow pace

PETALING JAYA: Environmentalists are concerned with the slow pace in which the organic industry is progressing despite strong demand from consumers on organic-related products.
According to experts, Malaysia is still lacking behind its Southeast Asia counterparts in promoting organic farming in order to produce a sustainable agriculture environment.
Centre of Environment, Technology and Development Malaysia chairman Gurmit Singh said countries such as Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand have a much-developed organic farming programme although some of them started much later than Malaysia.
"Organic farming in Malaysia has not moved much beyond its infancy. It is still serving a niche market," he said, adding that he is worried over the slow development since organic farming was first initiated some two decades ago.
Gurmit said organic farming in the country is more focused on mass production and export, which has unfortunately resulted in smallholders being sidelined.
He was speaking at a public forum on organic farming 2014 titled "What is happening to organic farming in Malaysia" here today.
He said the government and private sector should play a pivotal role in improving the continuous chain of organic farming in the country.
"There need to be some incentives. The other alternative is to have big farm operators cooperating with smaller farms to train and encourage them (to take part in organic farming)," he said.
Gurmit also advised consumers against buying and consuming fake organic products.
"By law, it is illegal to sell anything organic unless it is certified with a Malaysian Organic Scheme (SOM) certificate," he said.
"However, we don't know if anyone has been charged with selling products that are not certified with SOM because there is no one to monitor," he added.