UCYP SUCCESSFULLY HELD WEBINAR DASAR AGRIKOMODITI PAHANG: TRANSFORMASI DAN KELESTARIAN SOSIO EKONOMI RAKYAT

UCYP through Tun Ghazali Shafie: Institute for Strategic Leadership (TGS-ISL) was entrusted by the Pahang State Tourism, Culture, Environment, Plantation and Commodities Committee to conduct a Webinar entitled Dasar Agrikomoditi Pahang: Transformasi dan Kelestarian Sosioekonomi Rakyat. This program was held on October 21, 2021, virtually through ZOOM and FB Live and attended by over 100 participants.

Vice-Chancellor of UCYP, Professor Emeritus Dato ’Dr. Ahmad Bin Haji Zainuddin in his welcoming speech believed that green technology, climate change, and gas emissions are world’s major issues in which agro practitioners should be fully aware of. We need to have restoration plans for damage control, in hopes that soil, earth, and the environment are sustainable. He also proudly shared that UCYP will be upgraded as a full university and the main focus is towards agribusiness and agriculture. In this regard, to stop the decarbonization process that remains agitating the ozone balance, UCYP has made an effort by planting paulownia trees which can absorb 10 times more carbon dioxide than normal carbon and at the same time produce more oxygen. It is hoped that Pahang will be one of the decarbonized centers in Malaysia and further reduce the Greenhouse effect and any issues related to uncontrolled gas emissions.

This event became more meaningful with the presence of the Chairman of Pahang Tourism, Culture, Environment, Plantation and Commodities, YB. Dato’ Sri Haji Mohd Sharkar Bin Haji Shamsudin as the officiator. In his address, he welcomes all the expertise from plantation background through UCYP assistance to deliberate the challenges and ways in improving the plantation and commodity industry, especially in Pahang. According to him, although the country is still dealing with COVID-19, our export revenue still elevated up to 65% that representing RM105 billion for the second quarter of 2021, and this revenue came from the export of plantation crops i.e. oil palm, rubber, timber, cocoa, and black pepper. This substantiates that the plantation and commodity sector plays an essential role in the socio-economic development of the country.

In addition to that, he expressed his gratitude to all UCYP teams for their valuable contribution and utmost efforts in contributing ideas. He believes that UCYP’s capabilities on handling this webinar will be a commencement in the development of a Blueprint / Action Plan for Pahang Plantation and Agri Commodities. “Institutions of higher education should not only be a source of knowledge, but also a catalyst for the country’s economic development”. He also suggested that the upcoming webinar to revolve around knowledge and opinions on global issues, namely climate change.

For three (3) hours of webinar sharing, seeing knowledge sharing from four (4) experts in the plantation field , namely Professor Dr. Rofina Yasmin Othman from the Department of Industry and Community Networking, University of Malaya is also an Honorary Fellow of TGS-ISL. In addition, Puan Fazlina Yazmin Suhailin, Head of Plantation Department representing FELCRA Berhad Pahang Region, Associate Professor Dato’ Dr. H’ng Paik San, Head of UPM Biopolymers & Derivatives Laboratory, and Encik Mohd Khairul Azwan Bin Abdul Hamid, Operations Manager of YP Plantations Holding also shared their views and expertise.

Professor Dr. Rofina Yasmin Othman elaborated on  “The Role of Research, Technology, Innovation, and Human Capital as a Driver of Modernization of Pahang Agrocommodity Industry ”. According to her, the importance of Science, Technology, and Innovation in sustainable economic development and also well-being, need to be enhanced. Research on socio-economic value chain in terms of increasing productivity and efficient production, production of high-value palm products, advanced food technology, and environmental sustainability is necessary. In dealing with this challenging industry, she suggested the commodity industry should be digitized into Smart Plantations with the use of communication, mechanization, robotics, drones, and related technology. In addition, higher education centers are also encouraged to form Agri Commodity Innovation Centers particularly in Pahang.

“Issue of Unemployment: Impact, Solutions, and Challenges” was highlighted by the second presenter, Puan Fazlina Yazmin Suhaili. According to her, apart from rising costs and scattered farms, struggles in shaping the local people’s mindset on the involvement in plantation are the challenges encountered which relate to the crisis for National Oil Palm Plantation on workers shortage. She also shared on long and short term strategic plans that were taken by FELCRA, by holding a workforce recalibration program and bringing in foreign workers to support the plantation sector accordingly. The use of mechanization and encouraging locals to work by offering appropriate wage and benefit incentives, collaborating with prisons for source of manpower, as well as the use of drone and robotics technology in plantations could be long term actions.

“Growing Tree For Sawn Wood Commodity Market is Toward Generation of the Other Bitcoin or?” was the title discussed by Prof. Madya Dato ’Dr. H’ng Paik San. According to him, forest plantations are a long term profitable form of investment based on the analogy of bitcoin investment. In his view, the obstacles encountered in the plantation industry involve forest care management (silviculture) as well as investment for forest plantation development activities. To enhance the industry’s development, he suggested that the government formulate policies to encourage investment in forest plantations and increase the usage of IR4.0 technology to further develop forest plantations.

The successful webinar was wrapped up by the Head of Operations of YP Plantations Sdn. Bhd., Encik Mohd Khairul Azwan Bin Abdul Hamid who presented a topic related to “Challenges and Sustainability of the Oil Palm Plantation Sector”. As an agency involved in the plantation and commodity industries, he shared the challenges that YPPH has faced such since the issue of sustainability played by the supply chain as well as provocations done by the Europeans by holding anti-palm oil campaigns, labor shortages, shortages in terms of technology and innovation in the Farm Management System and constraints for the opening of new crop areas.

This webinar was one of the initial initiatives to gather important inputs before the Pahang Plantations and Commodities Festival & Symposium 2022 (PPCFestS’22) which is expected next year.

Deepest appreciation to the Chairman of the Pahang Tourism, Culture, Environment, Plantation and Commodities Committee, YB. Dato ‘Sri Haji Mohd Sharkar Bin Haji Shamsudin for the trust given to UCYP and congratulations to all the secretariats involved in the success of this program.

Written by: Farah Hariaty Mohd Shukri

Photo session with participants and speakers Webinar Dasar Agrikomoditi Pahang: Transformasi dan Kelestarian Sosioekonomi Rakyat

Opening speech by the Chairman of the Pahang State Tourism, Culture, Environment, Plantation and Commodities Committee YB. Dato’ Sri Haji Mohd Sharkar Bin Haji Shamsudin

Prof. Madya Dato’ Dr. H’ng Paik San presented the title Growing Tree For Sawn Wood Commodity Market is Toward Generation of the Other Bitcoin or?