KAN Kok Kwai was comfortably stretched out on a chair at the entrance to his 1.6-hectare starfruit farm in Kampung
Kok Kwai, or Ah Kwai as he is more popularly known, greeted us with a broad smile and a firm handshake. But he was puzzled why we were keen to meet him. After all, he is just a simple farmer.
But this simple farmer has lots of reasons to smile each time he exports his fruit every three months. Each shipment gives him about RM40,000 for each of his four farms.
“This job is better. It is a bit easier to earn money and faster as well” says the 46-year-old farmer.
He is one of six contract farmers commissioned by fruit exporter K-Farm Sdn Bhd, a family-run tropical fruit supplier, to grow carambola, commonly known as starfruit, for the European market.
For the last seven years since his return from Sinagpore. Ah Kwai has been working on his land with a team of Indonesian farm hands.
“It is not difficult work, it is like cultivating your own garden,” he says.
His day starts at about 7.30 or 8 am and goes on until about 5 pm.
From the time the trees start flowering and until the fruits are harvested some 75 days later. Ah Kwai and his workers have to ensure that fungi and diseases are kept at bay by pruning the trees regularly. Pesticides and fungicide are used but sparingly, he says.
“ We cannot simply spray. We know when to apply the fertilizers and chemicals and how to apply them. We have to adhere to GAP (good agriculture practice) standards.
“ Even our workers have to be sufficiently proctected when using these chemicals. It is about safety both for the consumer as well as ourselves. If we do not follow the standards, we risk losing our contract.”
For each season, Ah Kwai is able to harvest some 200,000 fruits from each farm. The fruits are individually sorted by hand and only the best (which are free from fungi, deformities and bruising) are packed into cardboard boxes to be shipped to Europe weekly by K-Farm, the first company in
Getting EurepGAP accreditation is not merely a passport to export agriculture produce to the European market, says K-Farm director Kit Chan
“ It is a very comprehensive on –farm quality system.It is about accountability in the supply chain and ensuring the every stakeholder becomes liable and accountable for what they produce and sell. It is not just about how good the produce is.
“ It is about gaining the consumer’s confidence in the safety of your produce because there is a system of traceability. We can detect the problem at source and address it”
Chan said K-Farm provides the knowledge, technology and training to the growers to achieve these goals.
An economist by training, Chan ventured into yhe agriculture business 20 years ago with his Bruneian wife, Cecilia, growing starfruit.
It was a decision that paid off quite handsomely for the couple, whose company is one of the leading exporters of tropical fruits today.
“Being the first company in
Chan will be one of the speakers at the coming seminar on EureGAP Accreditation and Export of Agro-Produce: Malaysia 2007 organised by the Department of Agriculture and qa plus asia-pacific sdn. bhd.
K-Farm contract farmers adopt the the practices of good agriculture practices through the company’s training programmes which bring to the farmers technology they would not have the opportunity to get otherwise.
“ We provide the expertise. We have officers who go to the farms every week to talk to the farmers, make recommendations and plan their production programmes.”
Farmers under the company sign a contract on GAP”.
“Agriculture is not just another profession where you grow and sell. It is about producing food for people, to nourish them. We have a moral obligation to provide food which does not harm people,” stresses Chan.
Ah Kwai may not have had the benefit of a tertiary education but he has gathered enough knowledge to know that good agriculture practice is one of the secrets to his success.
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