Plantation Farming of Cameron Highlands: Towards Promoting an Innovative and Sustainable Agriculture in Malaysia

AuthorZehadul Karim
PositionDepartment of Sociology and Anthropology, International Islamic University Malaysia, Gombak 53100, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Pages7-15
European Journal of Economics, Law and Social Sciences
IIPCCL Publishing, Graz-Austria
Vol. 2 No. 2
June, 2018
ISSN 2519-1284
Acces online at www.iipccl.org
7
Plantation Farming of Cameron Highlands: Towards Promoting an Innovative
and Sustainable Agriculture in Malaysia
Prof. Dr. a.h.m. Zehadul Karim
Department of Sociology and Anthropology
International Islamic University Malaysia
Gombak 53100, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Abstract
Cameron Highlands, an enchanting mountainous region with steep slopes and
hill peaks of Malaysia has an atmospheric support and ecological suitability which
allows a group of enthusiastic entrepreneurs with considerable ability for an
innovative agriculture in the region. Based on labour-intensive family farming, one
conspicuous feature of these farms is that they employ a large number of foreign
workers from neighbouring South East Asian and South Asian countries who
understand the intricacies of this type of cultivation. The ndings show that the
entrepreneurs have been able to adapt by interacting and responding properly to
the existing eco-environment of Cameron Highlands which has e ectually kept alive
continuous economic and commercial activities in this region through innovative
and sustainable agriculture. The research however, cautions the overuse of chemical
fertilizers bearing impact on human health for which it is suggested that chemical
techni cation of cultivation should be minimized; instead, the entrepreneurs should
focus more on the pre-existing local skills with labour-intensive organic farming.
Keywords: Cameron Highlands, plantation agriculture, sustainability, suggestive
future protection.
Introduction and Background
Cameron Highlands is a mountainous region with steep slopes located in Pahang
State in Peninsular Malaysia lying between 1070 and 1830 m above sea level. The land
area of Cameron is 71,218 ha with an average rainfall of 2660 mm (see Aminuddin et
al 2005). Since Malaysia does not have any winter season as such, it o en becomes
di cult to grow all types of tropical seasonal fruits and vegetables in large quantities
throughout the country. From that context, Cameron Highlands is quite suitable for
plantation-agriculture producing multifarious fruits and vegetables to meet up the
domestic and international requirements. The accurate land distribution of Cameron
Highlands indicates that out of the total land area of Cameron, only 5500 ha (8%) is used
for agriculture, 2750 ha (4%) is occupied by the local inhabitants for their se lement
and the remaining vast area of 60,000 ha (86%) is under forest cover (see Aminuddin
et al 2005).1 Topographical description of the region further indicates that tropical
forests have circumscribed the prevailing natural ecosystem of Cameron Highlands
in such a way that it allows the cultivators to nd a very favorable environment for
plantation agriculture. Compared to other parts of Malaysia, Cameron Highlands

To continue reading

Request your trial

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT