(Front, from second right) Ambrose and Rumaizi with red chillies harvested from the collaborative fertigation project in Buntong.
A chilli fertigation project in Kampung Tai Lee, Buntong in Ipoh, Perak, has enjoyed its biggest harvest so far, producing some 1,000kg of the popular red variety.
The project, started in July 2023, is a collaboration between Ipoh City Council, All Party Parliamentary Group Malaysia for Sustainable Development Goals (APPGM-SDG), Ipoh Barat MP and the local community of Kampung Tai Lee and Jalan Spooner.
APPGM-SDG community farming unit project management officer Rose Helen Ambrose said it took about four to five months before the chillies could be harvested.
“In our first harvest, we gave the crops to our participants, with the extras being sold,” she said after the launch of the harvest by Ipoh mayor Datuk Rumaizi Baharin during the Ipoh Low-Carbon Day event.
“We chose to start with red chillies because of the demand compared to other crops,” she added.
APPGM-SDG was set up in October 2019 to foster cooperation between parliamentarians and civil societies, academics and grassroots organisations to enable locals to achieve SDGs.
Ambrose said the chillies were initially planted using conventional methods but modern fertigation – above ground and irrigation-fed – was employed due to challenges.
“The 0.4ha project site is prone to flash floods, hence fertigation is ideal,” she explained.
She said some of the participants were also elderly, with health issues, thus this method was easier for them.
“We plan to expand the project to grow other vegetables, fruits and even rear farm animals,” Ambrose added, without elaborating on when the expansion would take place.
Rumaizi congratulated the participants on the project’s success.
“I hope it continues to achieve its objectives,” he said, adding that the project was funded by Finance Ministry’s allocations.
