ISKANDAR PUTERI: Johor aims to develop some 1,325ha of coconut plantations in the next five years to meet the growing demand for the crop, says state agriculture, agro-based industry and rural development committee chairman Datuk Zahari Sarip.
He said that Johor produced 118,278 metric tonnes of coconut from 12,151ha of land, involving 9,898 farmers, last year.
“Coconut is the main crop produced by the state, especially in the Batu Pahat, Pontian and Muar districts,” he told the state assembly sitting here yesterday.
Although the 118,278 metric tonnes of coconut produced last year was more than the 105,000 metric tonnes needed annually to fulfil demand in Johor, he said Malaysia’s self-sufficiency rate was just at 66.6%.
This means that Malaysia still needs to source for coconuts from other countries, he added.
As such, Johor, as the main producer of the crop, would need to achieve a higher production output in years to come.
The state government was planning to develop 1,325ha of coconut plantation area that could produce 124,313 metric tonnes of coconut by the year 2027, he said.
However, some of the challenges faced in meeting the country’s demand for the crop included the weather and pesticide attacks, he said in response to a question from Datuk Jefridin Atan (BN-Kukup) on the state government’s initiative to increase coconut yield.
On another matter, state works, transportation and infrastructure committee chairman Mohamad Fazli Mohamad Salleh said that 6,000km of water pipes from the total of 26,000 pipes in Johor are old and made of cement.
“These old pipes are vulnerable and could easily leak if they were to be hit during drilling works.
“Before any drilling works are carried out, we will conduct utility mapping to find out the location of the pipes. However, since the pipes have been around for decades, they are difficult to detect as they could be buried deep.”
As such, he said the Johor water utility company, SAJ Ranhill, has been told to find a way to connect the pipes with newer ones in the event a leak is detected.
Mohamad Fazli said the state receives an allocation of RM280mil a year for repairs.
“We can only replace 234km of the pipes a year with the allocation. It will take about 10 years for us to replace all the old pipes,” he added.
