PHOTO ESSAY | Cameron Highlands farmers fear 'wilting' industry amid Covid-19
PHOTO ESSAY | The agriculture and tourism industry in Cameron Highlands, Pahang worth RM1.4 billion a year, is under threat. The district is known for its rich soil in growing an array of greens and is the country's main source of fresh vegetables, fruits and flowers.
But it's now at the mercy of Covid-19 as the pandemic and the resulting lockdowns have turned the lives of Cameron Highlands' farmers upside down.
PHOTO ESSAY | The agriculture and tourism industry in Cameron Highlands, Pahang, worth RM1.4 billion a year, is under threat. The district is known for its rich soil in growing an array of greens and is the country's main source of fresh vegetables, fruits and flowers.
But it's now at the mercy of Covid-19 as the pandemic and the resulting lockdowns have turned the lives of Cameron Highlands' farmers upside down.
Some 3,988 hectares, which is about the size of almost 10,000 football fields, in the highlands is used for vegetable farming and can yield over 800 metric tonnes of vegetables a day.
But a visit to Cameron Highlands last week revealed that farmers are struggling to survive as the industry wilts amid the latest movement control order (MCO 3.0) which began on June 1.
Flower grower Alex Lau said that he was desperately trying to get his flowers exported to Singapore just for him to cover the cost of operating his farm.
"Even though my flowers cannot be sold at the local market during this time, my farm is still operating as we work to plant, water and fertilise the crop for future yields.
"The pressure I am facing now is immense as many of my flowers have to be disposed of and I am bearing the losses," he said.
Lau is not the only one planting for the future and although the risk of losing money is high, many farmers have to steel themselves and continue operating despite no guarantees of conditions improving and their next yield would be profitable.
Indian Farmers Association president Mantha Subramaniam lamented that farmers have incurred big losses during this latest lockdown.
"Before the lockdown, we were able to produce 10 to 15 boxes of flowers but during MCO 3.0, not a single box was sold and we had to bin them all," said Mantha, who is also a flower farmer.
However, for strawberry producer Nabila Shuhada, the latest round of MCO has presented new opportunities for her business as she was more prepared to deal with the situation this time.
"Before this, we were scared to take our business online as there were concerns of the goods getting damaged in transit when posted out. But we decided to learn how to do marketing, take orders and package the goods for the online market," she said.
The current total lockdown to curb the spread of Covid-19 has been extended until June 28 and Cameron Highlands farmers can only hope that their livelihoods, as well as their dreams, will not be buried in the ground they have toiled for so long.
