FOOD is the single most important need of all for all living things. Call it food or nutrients, takeaways or tapaus, edibles or eatables, or dedak but it is still food that is of paramount importance, under whatever name or design or guise. People may or may not need to wear Jimmy Choo shoes, carry Birkin handbags or dine at Michelin-starred restaurants to flaunt their wealth and strut their stuff. In fact, with just their plain birthday suit on, people may actually have no need to wear anything else at all.
There is no compulsion, but at the end of the day, if nothing else is needed, they still need food because no one can make do without food. It can be physical food ingested through the mouth and into the digestive tract, or it can be liquid food that is gulped in, or else tube or drip-fed food. Some people can even take in vapour by sniffing illegal or health-damaging stuffs, which may land them behind bars or in hospital.
Just like water, no food means no life, which is why there are often reports of famine regularly occurring somewhere that snuffs out the lives of countless numbers of people.
Food security
In simplest terms, most people would regard food security as not having to face empty rice bins and broken plates, bowls and bottles.
In times of health problems or wars that afflict populations in global proportions, food security is the issue that is prioritised by many people-caring countries. There is a need to safeguard a continuous food supply for their inhabitants and ensuring that the food chain is stable and unbroken.
Zooming down the scale to individuals and families, it is often seen that that is an issue that is well known, namely, the hoarding of food items for those with the means to safeguard food security for the family. For the many who are on half or no pay leave or who are jobless and left in the lurch, there is nothing to hoard without the means, except to scrounge around to put something on the table.
In light of the current pandemic that has swept the entire world, it is therefore not surprising that responsible and caring governments across the globe are taking measures to secure sufficient food supplies to sustain their people. Some with overflowing funds in developed countries, are engaged in ensuring food security through bilateral or multilateral arrangements, while others within the developing or underdeveloped countries, are finding that they have to focus on the need to work their own land more extensively and intensively instead of just leaving them in perpetual fallow while the country wallows in the debt sinkhole.
Actually, it is not a bad idea for countries and states like Sabah to seriously look into the need to ensure food security, at least, for the state, starting from the people level, to begin producing food. There is nothing to be ashamed about and absolutely nothing to lose as there are vast stretches of uncultivated or under-utilised lands.
The road to large or small scale food production is fairly straightforward, with high, medium or low tech, or harnessing mainly human power. The avenues that are open are truly mind-boggling, with vertical, roof-top, tiered and greenhouse farming that are often bandied about, with each fitting in according to the peculiar conditions of the location. Add in the use of drones, robotics, AIs, digitisation, automation, etc., the scope to grow an extra leaf of sawi or bayam is too broad to fit into this page.
In land-starved countries such as Singapore, there are a lot of investors lining up to carry out city farming projects. Most of these are of the high end type of cultivation that are done within factory-like buildings with food crops being cultivated in tiers. If urban farming in Singapore is not a problem, it should be a breeze for Sabah which is so well-gifted with plenty of land, strong sunshine, and endless supply of water. The easiest path for Sabah would be to start small such as in community plots which directly benefits the rakyat at very low cost.
It is sad that while thousands out there are crying out about joblessness, gulung tikar, retrenchment, goreng sotong, pay cuts, VSSes, terminations, etc., much of the under-utilised land are overflowing with lush green vegetation – of the inedible type.
There has been too much hype in the past about setting goals and achieving targets, but nothing appreciable can be seen, except office bearers waxing fat and easy. With the new government just fully energised, they should seriously reconsider it as a god-send to prove they are finally good for something.
The Sabah government should therefore take the bold step of engaging with the rakyat and encouraging a more systematic and widespread cultivation of such lands, small as they may be, within urban settings. Heard of community plots within city boundaries? They may be small plots, but they can be worked to produce large quantities of food for the people and by the people.
The various agencies that have land banks or isolated pockets of unused lands that are suitable for urban cultivation should be proactive enough to permit the use of such lands on short leases based on strict terms and conditions.
But, sadly, most of the time, the officers just chicken out as it is easier to reject or ignore the potential to help the state ensure its food security, even though it may just be a minuscule portion.
And sadly again, I have personally known of a person who tried very hard years ago to officially apply for permission to use a certain area to cultivate something beneficial, but the poor guy finally gave up after having been made to run around tens of times around and up and down buildings and from one agency to another. Possibly, by now, the location could have been filled with PTIs or some other squatters doing uncontrolled and destructive cultivation or something like that.
This trend of events can only prove one thing, that is, a pervasive and entrenched couldn’t-care-less attitude of many agencies that are run on taxpayers’ contribution. For many less responsible people, it is always easier to act dumb or look blank when faced with issues that need attention and action. If the government of the day does not care about the needs of the rakyat, what, then, is it for?
Urban agriculture
Some people may call it urban farming, urban agriculture, food plant cultivation, community plot farming or town agriculture or whatever it is, but in the final analysis, it refers to the same issue, that is, food production within urban areas. To all intents and purposes, these terms are freely interchangeable and refer to one and the same matter within the context of this story.
KK is a fortunate city as it still has vast stretches of unused or under-utilised lands which appears to be quite tempting for squatters both illegal and legal. Should the authorities decide to roll out a honey-coated ball, the ants and bees will definitely come to partake of the juicy windfall.
Similarly, when the government is amiable to being positive to ideas and proposals from the rakyat at ground level to create urban farms within urban greeneries, it is likely that many city folks will jump at the opportunity to work at something that can yield fresh, healthy greens to be shared out for consumption among the participants.
Whenever people at ground level are involved, there will be long queues waiting to join the bandwagon to wherever it may take them to do something good, healthy and rewarding.
When this happens, there will be three windfalls. (1) a lot of jobless locals will find gainful and rewarding employment, with some becoming their own bosses in due course, and (2) PTIs may find no openings since the better returns will attract more Sabahans.
Hopefully, Sabahans will take back the jobs lost to the PTIs since decades ago.
(3), the produce from urban farming is definitely going to be fresher and healthier as the use of toxic pesticides are discouraged or even prohibited altogether.
10 steps to urban food production
ALTHOUGH there are many brilliant ideas floating around, the following are the simplest suggested means to a successful urban food production project:
1. Look for a suitable plot.
2. Gather interested and serious urban cultivators but not rent-seekers.
3. Obtain necessary approval.
4. Setting up a formal instrument would perhaps open the avenue to seek for contributions of dedak from somewhere.
5. Have a proper organisation with division of responsibilities and chain of instructions.
6. Meet to thrash out implementation issues.
7. Collect some funds from within or outside to meet initial input needs.
8. Get cracking.
9. When everything is said and done, only then can the cuppas and bottles be emptied.
10. Ini kalilah!
From above: These are common food vegetables that can be easily be produced in great quantities to help boost food security.
Working hard and keeping oneself fit is a normal affair, and as such, it is never too much to expect mouthwatering fruits such as musang king durian (above) or ciku (below) to fall onto your lap while you are snoozing in the garden. Remember, fruit security is one aspect of food security.
Corn (from above), brinjal and mulberry are often seen growing well in many gardens as well as outside the boundary such as on drain reserves etc. The yields from such plants, including the leaves as vegetables, are by no means meagre.
Sweet potato plants can be grown very productively on any vacant space. They are indeed wonderful as their tubers form a bulk food crop while the leaves constitute an appetising vegetable food crop. Nobody loses anything if the hardworking folks chose to grow the plant, unlike some fast-buck scams where the careless may even lose their trousers.
