Chan poses with the 30 participants of the course.
KOTA KINABALU (June 21): Sabah has the potential to become the second largest pepper producer in Malaysia.
Deputy Plantations and Commodity Minister Datuk Chan Foong Hin said this is because Sabah has similar topography to Sarawak, the largest producer.
“I am made to understand that the pepper plant is suitable for planting in hilly areas with a good drainage system. For example, places like Penampang and Papar have the type of topography and soil (laterite soil) that are suitable for pepper planting with high annual rainfall which is 4,446mm,” said Chan at the 2024 8th Pepper Production Course closing ceremony at Sky Hotel today.
And unlike other commodities, the pepper plant also does not require large areas, he said.
“This condition provides opportunities to folks who do not possess large land areas to venture into the industry and plant pepper,” he said.
He also said that one of the unique characteristics of pepper is that it can be kept for a long time, which was a bonus point, especially for rural folks who may have issues bringing their plant products outside since pepper is not easily perishable compared to other commodities.
At the same time, pepper from Malaysia possesses the aroma and spice that are well accepted by outsiders, especially tourists since it has high ‘piperine’ chemical content.
And since Sabah is a haven for tourists, Chan said he believed peppers from Sabah had huge market potential.
He added that under the E-Pekebun MPB system, Sabah now has 336 farmers engaging in pepper farming covering an area of 49.88 hectares.
Chan said that the Keningau district is Sabah’s main pepper planting area with 8.62 hectares planted with the commodity, followed by Kota Marudu (6.84 hectares) and Tambunan (6.59 hectares).
He added that the potential of pepper plants has not been explored fully in Sabah.