Turning idle land into lettuce farm

Good to go: Mohmad Fazar inspecting the pot of vegetable that he plans to sell at the Coral Lettuce Sales in Kampung Batu 8 in Kampar. — Bernama

KAMPAR: The initiative of a group of residents of Kampung Batu 8, Jalan Tanjung Tualang here, to transform an idle land into a hydroponic coral lettuce planting project site since the beginning of May has benefitted the local community.

Project leader Mohmad Fazar Fadzillah, 37, said the implementation of the project on the 0.1ha site was assisted by an allocation under the Madani Community Fund initiative amounting to RM80,000, which was channelled through the Implementation Coordination Unit of the Prime Minister’s Department (ICU JPM).

“This land was left idle due to frequent flash floods.

“So to prevent the land from being abandoned, we were determined to do something that could be beneficial.

“I found out about the allocation under this fund after watching (on television) the Prime Minister’s speech at the Rural Entrepreneurs Carnival KUD@Putrajaya 2023 at the end of November last year,” he told Bernama at the Coral Lettuce Sales in Kampung Batu 8 here on Thursday.

Mohmad Fazar, who is also the Kampung Batu 8 Village Development and Security Committee chairman, said he and several members of the village committee had a meeting and decided to cultivate coral lettuce.

“We applied (for a grant) on March 28 through the MySejaTiMADANI website.

“A month later, our application was approved. We used the allocation received to make this coral lettuce planting project a success,” he said.He said as many as 1,300 pots were prepared for the cultivation of the coral lettuce. It involved the participation of 16 residents of Kampung Batu 8.

He added that the main factor for cultivating coral lettuce was due to the high price in the market, and easy care and maintenance.

“The price of 1kg of coral lettuce in supermarkets or certain places is around RM15 to RM20. This is the main factor, in addition to the fact that it is a disease-resilient plant that is easy to care for.

“The plant also only takes about 30 to 45 days to mature and can be harvested for sales.

“We do the work in turns and the most important thing is to look after the fertiliser and water to ensure the quality,” he said.

Asked about the project’s future plans, Mohmad Fazar said they intend to expand the market, besides diversifying the types of crops on the site.

Meanwhile, ICU JPM’s Madani Community Development Section assistant director Nor Hanis Mazlan said the implementation of projects under the Madani Community initiative is to boost the local community’s economy, including in rural areas.

“The government provides allocations through the Madani Community Fund, which allocates grants between RM50,000 and RM100,000 to help communities implement programmes to increase income.”

Nor Hanis said those interested in implementing a project like this need to make an application through the MySejaTiMADANI website.

“The fund is not only focused on the agriculture and food sector, but extends to those interested in implementing other projects, such as sewing and handicrafts, herbs and health, hospitality and tourism, as well as green and recycling activities,” said Nor Hanis.