The status of cassava [Manihot esculenta] cultivation in Peninsular Malaysia
The current status of cassava, most important of the root crops cultivated in Peninsular Malaysia, was described in terms of the trends in its area of cultivation and present distribution by state. Despite a few attempts to grow it on a plantation scale, cassava remained essentially a smallholder cr...
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| Format: | Journal Contribution |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2013
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://agris.upm.edu.my:8080/dspace/handle/0/2160 |
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| Summary: | The current status of cassava, most important of the root crops cultivated in Peninsular Malaysia, was described in terms of the trends in its area of cultivation and present distribution by state. Despite a few attempts to grow it on a plantation scale, cassava remained essentially a smallholder crop, mainly mono-cropped. The crop had traditionally been important for starch extraction with a minor role as a component of animal feed rations. Export and import figures of cassava products were given over the period 1976-1982. Future prospects for cassava utilization included expansion of its traditional uses, particularly as a partial substitute of grain maize in animal feeding, as well as gasohol fuel production and high fructoseglucose syrup to satisfy part of our high sugar requirements. The potential for expansion in cultivated area lay in peat tracts since there would be increasing competition for mineral soils from other lucrative crops. The problems and constraints to increase production of cassava included technical, managerial, socio-economic problems and those that arise from inadequate support services and marketing, and from scarcity of land and infrastructure. The future outlook for cassava was somewhat grim due to the current declining trend in production. This outlook might however be transformed by drastic changes in the industry, viz. expanding the scale of production, improving market outlets for starch and animal feed, and promoting cultivation on peat. Government mediation was required in all cases, while private sector investment would be helpful |
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