A pomelo farmer has suffered losses for three years after taking on a government-initiated programme. He wants the authorities to act.

Kenny Phon, 43, owner of Tambun Valley Pomelos tasted sweet success when his farm was given Malaysia’s Best accreditation from Fama in 2006 for adopting the Agriculture Ministry’s good agricultural practices.

The ministry’s agency Fama promised subsidies and heightened marketing to promote his high quality pomelos that are healthier and tastier than non-accredited ones.

kenny pomelo price story 060208 pomelo However, things became bitter as the ministry’s agency Fama had allegedly failed to help him market his pomelos and are assisting the distributors instead.

Phon has been having trouble selling his pomelos, which are priced higher than non-accredited ones because of higher costs incurred in abiding the ministry’s guidelines.

The Tambun-native then turned to Fama for help but the authority offered him RM4.20 per kg, which is much lower than the market price of RM6 per kg for non-accredited pomelos.

Phon said from his crop of 14,000 pomelos, Fama only offered to buy 500 of them. Another 3,000 pomelos have over-ripened and had to be thrown away.

According to Agriculture and Agro-based Industries Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, it is not Fama’s duty to buy "lock, stock and barrel" from farmers.

"Fama is just assisting, it cannot buy at a higher price," he was quoted as saying by the Star on Saturday.

Harmful pesticides

Phon - who made profits before he was accredited - said cheap pesticides and fertilisers that were harmful to health were used by many farmers.

"I was once unaccredited and I know how dangerous these chemicals can be in causing cancer and illnesses.

kenny pomelo price story 060208 pak lah "I thought I could get accredited and grow healthier pomelos. I was told the Malaysia’s Best programme would mean my fruits can be sold in the international market," he told Malaysiakini .

The Malaysia’s Best brand name is a programme under the Ninth Malaysia Plan - which was made by Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi - aimed at developing the agriculture sector.

According to the ministry’s website, the branding serves as a quality assurance for domestic and foreign consumers on Malaysia’s agricultural products as well as to enhance the image of the country's agricultural products in the global market.

kenny pomelo price story 060208 malaysia best logo Phon also pointed out that authorities in Fama and the ministry have not returned his calls for several days now.

"I know Pak Lah is coming to Bidor (about 70km from Tambun) for an event on Saturday. I will make myself heard so they would listen," he said.

"Fama should have done more to support farmers like us by getting hypermarkets to buy Malaysia’s Best products and promote the high quality fruits we’re producing.

"What’s the point in us growing quality fruits when the authorities promoting this good agricultural practices are squeezing us to sell at cheaper price?" he added.