Special working group formed to strategise sustainable agriculture in Sabah

KOTA KINABALU: A mix of government agencies and NGOs will form the backbone for the Agro-forestry working group initiated by WWF Malaysia aimed at developing strategies for sustainable agriculture.

The group comprises various agencies, including Sabah Forestry Department, Forest Research Centre, Department of Agriculture, Pertubuhan Peladang Kawasan Tawau, Korporasi Pembangunan Desa was established on Friday (July 15).

According to a WWF statement on Wednesday (July 20) the other stakeholders included Sawit Kinabalu Group and farmers group represented by Koperasi Nasib Kita, and Hamka Brothers (Ulu Kalumpang Agriculture Scheme), Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) and indigenous community based PACOS Trust.

The aim was to get the views of different stakeholders on the potential of agro-forestry implementation in Sabah as an alternative livelihood for smallholders and rural communities other than oil palm mono-crop.

The group plans to strategise projects to support food security, sustainable land use and potential for biofuel crops production through agroforestry systems.

Agroforestry is one of the pillars of WWF-Malaysia Sabah Landscapes Programme’s forest restoration initiative.

It is a nature-based solution to mono-cropping, agroforestry is a multiple land use system that mimics forest which combines agriculture and forestry practices into agricultural landscapes or farms.

This comprises the integration of timber trees on farms with appropriate combinations of other different plant and tree species (indigenous fruit trees, feeds, food crops) and livestock, including along forest margins and river reserves to improve the protection of vulnerable areas, and heterogeneity of landscape.

WWF-Malaysia's Sabah Landscapes Programme Lead Dr Faisal Mohd Noor said there was a need to emphasise the crop diversification in smallholder landscapes and reduce the dependency on a single crop in order to secure access to food mainly on vulnerable rural populations.

"This includes the potential of integrating indigenous fast-grown timber species and permanent tree cover for carbon stock and Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) such as honey, local durians, damar, wildflowers, herbs and medicinal plants and others," he said, adding the need for stakeholder engagement, mainly between governmental agencies in pursuing the agenda on agroforestry development.