WWF, MPB sign MoU to help Sarawak pepper farming communities

KUCHING, July 28 (Bernama) -- World Wide Fund for Nature Malaysia (WWF-Malaysia) and the Malaysian Pepper Board (MPB) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to pave the way for better co-management of natural resources and pepper farm lands, particularly by the local communities in Song, Sarawak, about 500 km northeast of here. 

In a statement, WWF-Malaysia said the signing of the three-year MOU was witnessed by Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister, Datuk Zuraida Kamaruddin during the Malaysia International Agricommodity Expo and Summit held today at the Malaysian International Trade and Exhibition Centre in Kuala Lumpur.

At the signing ceremony, WWF-Malaysia was represented by its executive director/chief executive officer, Sophia Lim and MPB, by its deputy director-general, Jenny George.

“Under this MoU, MPB will provide its technical expertise on regular and organic pepper farming so that the communities involved in the project will benefit from capacity building and the technical aspects of pepper planting,” the statement said.

The targeted communities are Rumah Dagum and Rumah Peter in Ulu Katibas, Song. MPB will also extend support by providing pepper-grading and sorting machinery where feasible.

WWF-Malaysia has been working with the two communities since 2018 and for this year, the project has received the much needed funding support from the Finance Ministry with WWF-Malaysia continuing to liaise, collaborate and plan activities on the ground while MPB will monitor the progress of the project. 

The collaboration also paves the way for both organisations to explore international certification or good agriculture practices schemes for pepper and help market pepper from the local communities.

“This project is important as it seeks to demonstrate a few key points that align with WWF’s vision and mission to conserve nature for people and the planet, while facilitating and strengthening the communities’ livelihood option.

“At the same time, it strives to minimise the adverse impact on the environment through good management practices and pesticide-free options, and looks at the long-term feasibility of organically-grown pepper,” Lim said in the statement. 

-- BERNAMA