Residents from Bandar Dato’ Onn Perjiranan 10 harvesting the vegetables at the neighbourhood greenhouse site.
RESIDENTS at a neighbourhood in Bandar Dato Onn’ in Johor Baru have been growing fresh vegetables not only for the community’s consumption but also for charity homes since 2021.
Bandar Dato’ Onn Perjiranan 10 Residents’ Committee chairman Mohammad Najib Hassan said the hydroponic greenhouse project had about 800 pots planted with vegetables such as mustard greens, spinach and baby romaine lettuce.
“We also take orders from teachers in the surrounding schools and give the fresh produce away to welfare homes and surau.
“The demand is quite high as our vegetables are pesticide-free and we use organic fertilisers.
“Our price is also cheaper compared to the market as they are supplied directly to the end-user without a middleman,” he said.
The hydroponic project was started by Johor Corporation through its foundation and Johor Land Bhd in 2021, he added.
While the committee was honoured to be chosen for the pilot project, Mohammad Najib said not many residents were interested in it when it first started.
Back then, the residents were sceptical and could not commit to the project as they all had jobs and other commitments.
Residents from Bandar Dato’ Onn Perjiranan 10 harvesting the vegetables at the neighbourhood greenhouse site.
“We were also not confident about making the project work because we lacked the farming experience and knowledge.
“However, after undergoing training sessions by a consultant hired by the JCorp Foundation, we gained knowledge and started producing fresh vegetables regularly, which gave us the confidence to go further.
“Slowly, more residents started joining in the activities from maintaining the crops to harvesting the fresh produce,” he said.
On weekdays, the committee members would take turns tending to the plants and the residents would join in on the weekends, he added.
“We use social media to update the residents about our activities.
“When it is time to harvest, they will usually turn up in droves with their scissors and other equipment to help out while others pack the vegetables into bags for sale.
“Besides providing food supply for the community, the project also brings people together and promotes better relations through healthy activities,” he said, adding that the money from the sales would then be used to maintain the farm and purchase fertilisers.
JCorp Foundation chairman Rozaini Mohd Sani said the 65.03 sq m project was also equipped with an Internet of Things system where the 800 vegetable pots could be monitored online.
“This collective effort promotes active community interaction, supports the government’s agenda of ensuring food security and is also environmentally-friendly.
“We hope the initiative will inspire more urban farming efforts where empty spaces are optimised to make the neighbourhood greener and more sustainable,” he said.
He added that the initiative was one of the foundation’s main programmes focusing on community and environment well-being.
