Industrial tree plantations and poverty
Published on: Sunday, March 21, 2021
By: Datuk John Lo
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https://www.dailyexpress.com.my/news/167756/china-willing-to-help-sabah-in-poverty-eradication-/
http://sabahnews.com.my/sabah-seeks-strong-ties-and-investments-from-china/
Mind-set Change, Technology, Land Reform,
Industrialisation and Market Access.
Sabah is fortunate for the offer from Liang. Sabah’s poverty which has stubbornly stuck for the last 30 years, is getting from bad to worse. Sabah has more poverty than Kelantan, the worst nationwide despite divine generosity of so much resources.
China has achieved more poverty eradication than all the world and global agencies put together, 800 million in total. China has more middle-income Chinese than all of USA’s population within 40 years. Awesome achievement. Sabah can learn a lot from China. Liang’s offer is God-sent.
China can impart lessons and assistance on Mind-set Change, Technology, Land Reform, Industrialization and Market Access. All these are vital inputs for poverty eradication in Sabah.
Special mention on land reform. Present law, pattern of land alienation and general agricultural zoning are not suitable for modern farming which requires economy of scale and logistics. I am happy that the Director of Lands and Survey Department, Bernard Liew has an excellent progressive mindset and is very open for land reform. This is an excellent starting point to work with Liang.
ITPs [Industrial Tree Plantations], Down-stream Industrialisation and Poverty Eradication.
Sabah’s poorest of the poor are in the rural areas. It is a fact that logging the natural forest, followed by oil palm plantation, has increased rural poverty in Sabah because of their excessive selfishness..
Sabah has made some progress with ITP but no way near to a fully integrated ITP industry like China, NZ, Indonesia and Brazil. Again, China can help Sabah in a big way as it is leading the world in reforestation [greening desert also!] in down-stream technology, investment and most importantly, market access. Something to bear in mind when talking to Liang Caide.
Sabah should remember 4 principles in ITP.
[a] When there is a robust ITP industry, there will be healthy down-stream industrialization. When there is down-stream, there will be jobs. When there are jobs for Sabahans, poverty will be less. We already have living examples of this happening in ITPs in Bengkoka and Sepulut. Living examples that that Sabahans can work well in ITPs.
[b] When there are no logs or insufficient supply, down-stream investors will pack up their machineries and move elsewhere. Tree planters can’t up root their trees out of Sabah.
[c] A healthy co-existence, mutual beneficial relationship between ITPs and down-stream industrialization stakeholders must emerge for a strong overall timber master plan in Sabah. The Sabah government must be an independent referee, not to allow any party to gain unfair advantage over the other. Market forces, supple and demand must be allowed to prevail.
[d] ITP is a sunrise industry in Sabah and Sarawak. This must be recognised by Federal government by giving maximum tax incentives and encouragement. Lim Guan Eng has, unthinkingly, dealt a deadly to ITPs when he disallowed tax write off after 7 years. ITPs have a longer gestation that this.
Sabah’s Food Security And Eradication Of Poverty.
Can a government official tell us how many months of rice stock pile in Sabah? What is the plan for food security/supply as Sabah is importing many cirtical food items like rice, wheat for flour, corn, beef, chicken, etc.
Will food supply be disrupted/cut off if there is a war in South China Sea where present situation is rather dense between USA/allies and China. It is time for assurance to be given to Sabahans by the federal government that it has Sabah’s food supply under control.
Or better, the federal government can start implementing a scheme to make Sabah self-sufficient in critical food items. Such a scheme will have the added advantage of giving Sabahans in the coastal and rural areas opportunities to improve their income.
Don’t dismiss food security/supply problem. When it happens as is likely the case, there will be major disastrous consequences. We must plan for it now.
Intertwine of Agriculture, Industrialisation.
With Petronas’ continuous discriminations against Sabah by refusing to allocate sufficient gas for our industrialization and investments in the oil/gas sector, industrialization in ITP [Industrial Tree Plantations] and small holder agriculture are a way out. Both MID and Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries have big roles to play.
An excellent example is the inclusion of ubi kayu for noodles and animal feeds. Sabah imports all the ingredients for these items. Both federal and state governments can provide incentives for import substitution.
Great for eradication of poverty and greater utilization of small holder lands in addition to reduction of cost of living if done right.
Sabah has made some progress on industrial tree plantations but can do with China’s help.
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