Ensuring that we get our daily basic food supplies have become prevalent lately. Chicken or Egg has taken a different perspective. We had shortage of chicken, then shortage of eggs, or was it the other way round?
Demand exceed supply, so price goes up hurting our wallets even more. Price inelasticity has taken national dimensions, I shall not comment. News headlines scream shortage of vegetables during the rainy season, and the list goes on. Alas! Food security has become a national buzzword in the recent past.
But, is it sufficient to only talk about it by importing food, adding to the already high food import bill, supply chain distortions, or are there alternatives that deserve more attention?
Recently, a group amongst the kariah of Masjid Saidina Umar Al- Khattab Bukit Damansara took advantage of the Thaipusam holiday to visit D’Impian Agro Farm, just outside Muar, Johor. The informal like-minded influential group was following up on their daily breakfast Mubeen Discourse, named after their mamak joint, over roti canai and thosei, where issues of the day are debated and documented.
D’Impian Agro farm is a living example of how the rakyat can ensure that they get their supply of basic food throughout the year. Founded and run by Dr Baharuddin Mohamed or better known as Coach Bahar, it is an integrated farm which focusses on fertigation, livestock animals, aquaponics, training and agrotourism.
To cater for the urban population, fertigation techniques has produced high value items like premium Kobe melons, chili pepper and chili centil, vegetables like brinjal, cekur, and cucumbers. You can even grow rice on a small scale, with each harvest enough to sustain a family of five people for a month. Requiring minimal intervention, these items can be grown in pots or polybags in any kind of dwelling, something for the urban dweller to think about.
Rearing fish in tanks is an added value item as the water from the tanks is used to fertilise the vegetables.
For people with a little land to work with, livestock breeding is an alternative. In addition to local goats, D’Impian rears Dorper Sheep producing premium Australian lamb meat, and deer for breeding or sales. To reduce cost of feed mill they also produce Napier grass which can be grown in abundance, and high protein silage as feed mill for the animals. For less exotic food, he also breeds chicken which are slaughtered and processed for commercial sale or private consumption served in his cafeteria under the COBAWIN brand.
Interestingly, his livestock chicken is raised under canopies rather than coops or barns, which could revolutionize livestock farming in Malaysia by reducing costs of production.
The Coach has proven that basic agro-based food does not have to be produced on a large scale, using idle land around the house or in polybags, bringing urban farming to your doorstep.
Coach Bahar also dispelled some myths about vegetable farming. Through his research, he has proven that quality vegetable produce can be obtained on the ground level, not necessarily on highland: different fertilizer mix is required for different crops; sheep or goats can be allowed to roam the field under certain conditions, self- produced fodder for the animals; and many more.
Coach Bahar has initiated this enterprise and is ready and willing to share his experience. Are you willing to consider replicating this agro-farm concept around your house?
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