Sunday May 18, 2008

Hard times call for revival of Green Book plan

WHEN launching the Green Book Programme (popularly known as Rancangan Buku Hijau) in 1974, Malaysia’s second Prime Minister Tun Haji Abdul Razak Hussein said it was one of the positive steps to help the public overcome problems caused by inflation.

The main objective of the programme was to increase the production of food by encouraging people to plant and grow their own food crops.

In view of the current rise in prices of food, Federation of Malaysia Consumers Associations (Fomca) secretary-general Muhammad Sha'ani Abdullah has proposed that the programme be revived to encourage the public to carry out backyard farming, hydroponics planting and organic farming.

Sha’ani, a former employee of the Agriculture Ministry, says the programme fizzled out when the Malaysian economy grew and people had more money to buy food.

“This kind of programme should be encouraged all the time. When the leaders changed, so did the priorities,” he adds.

The Federation of Malaysian Growers Association (PPSM) recently said that Malaysia produced 700,000 metric tonnes of vegetables every year – of which 170,000 tonnes are exported to Singapore.

To cover Malaysia’s needs, 500,000 tonnes of vegetables were imported. Prices of vegetables have increased recently as a result of bad weather and rising prices of fertiliser.

“We have to accept that prices are not going to come down anytime soon,” says Sha’ani, who adds that Fomca plans to distribute vegetable seeds for a nominal fee.

According to Datuk Ramini Gurusamy, Deputy President of the National Council of Women's Organisations (NCWO), schools through their consumer clubs should encourage green lifestyles by having students plant vegetables and decorative plants.

“In fact, one way to reach parents is through children,” she says.

Ramini admits that times have changed since 1974 and some strategies are not relevant now.

“Land use patterns, lifestyles and living conditions are not the same anymore. We are becoming more urbanised with more people living in high-rise buildings. People will have to make use of every space that is available,” she says. – By RASHVINJEET S.BEDI