Pesticide and agrochemical advertising along the winding roads of Ringlet, the farming hub of Malaysia's top vegetable producing region Cameron Highlands, indicates the high use of chemicals by farmers.

But while the use of pesticides is inevitable to most vegetable farmers in Cameron Highlands, it is not the case for 'Hatiku Agrikultur' farm owner, Fung Chee Siang.

Fung has been running his organic farm on a 20-acre land at 1,000 metres above sea level in Ringlet for 20 years, away from other conventional farms that use pesticides.

To Fung, organic farming is something he fell in love with unintentionally.

“It must be the wind. I was at the crossroad at finding something that will catch my heart and finally the wind brought me here,” said Fung during Malaysiakini’s visit at his farm.

Before Fung settled down with his organic farming business, he did sales, volunteer work and studied ancient scriptures while travelling to many different places.

“This is the only thing in my life that I have stuck to,” he said.

 

Comfortable with small-scale business

Many farmers think of organic farming as a difficult business, underscored by high losses and meagre profits, if at all.

But Fung finds compensation in other forms.

“You’ll be given the chance to be with nature and make use of all your senses to survive the challenges,” he said.

Fung sells his vegetables through a network of agents who distribute the crops throughout Malaysia and Singapore.

There is a recent decrease in profits, he said, but he prefers not to dwell on the numbers.

“I am comfortable with the business because although it is small for us to enjoy the process, it is also big enough for us to pay the rental of the land and pay the workers,” he said.

Fung also welcomes visitors who are interested in organic farming or the environment and charges RM10 per head but he does not plan to amplify the tourism business.

“Making it (the tourism business) bigger doesn’t necessarily mean that it will be good because more tourists may mean that more vehicles will come up and more damage will be done to the environment,” he said.

Using nature’s balance, not pesticides

Visitors to the farm will be greeted with the sights of rare insects like the golden tortoise beetle which peek behind leaves in all corners of the pesticide-free grounds.

Pointing to the trees of the forest surrounding the farm, Fung said that he learned to work with nature more than anything else.

“We try not to disturb as much as we can because this is the habitat for some insects or other living things,” he said.

Wild plants and weeds are also left untouched as they maintain the conditions of the soil.

“During heavy rain season, the weeds can prevent soil erosion and during the dry season, they can hold moisture in the soil,” said Fung.

Fung also explained that natural selection is also one of nature’s work that is important to organic farming, which is why he does not find the need to use pesticides.

“You have insects that eat the vegetables and other insects that eat those insects. Birds will also eat the insects.

“If we use pesticides, then we will cause an imbalance and depend on pesticides,” he said.

Multiple-cropping and companion planting prevent pests

Other than letting nature do its work, Fung also said that he avoids mono-cropping which is an easier measure taken by modern farms.

Instead, he grows a variety of vegetable on the same bed.

“If you specialise in carrots, the carrots would take up all the nutrients they need and what they pass out would be accumulating, and it will be imbalanced,” he said.

He mentioned that planting different types of vegetables next to each other will also prevent pests from coming in large numbers.

“When the insects hunt in a large group, there will not be enough food and the insects will fight for it,” said Fung.

Fung also practises companion planting by planting certain types of plants directly next to the vegetables for pest control.

“If you plant tomatoes, it is encouraged that you plant sweet basil to dispel the insects,” he said.

Ponder on the use of pesticides

Having gone through many challenges, Fung feels more thought should be given to the ethics of farming.

“I’m not good enough to advise but we should think if what we produce is really good for consumers, for ourselves, for the workers and for Mother Earth,” he said.

He also said that people should do their part by turning to more sustainable ways of farming instead of depending on NGOs.

“In nature, the so-called pests actually know how much they should and can take and leave behind so that it is sustainable and their offspring would have a place to live,” he said.

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