Abdullah gesa petani guna benih berkualiti

Oleh Azmi Md Deros, Johari Ibrahim dan Siti Fatimah Mohamed Anwar

TANAMAN BERPOTENSI: Abdullah dan Jeanne melihat jagung manis sambil diperhatikan Mahdzir ketika melawat ladang jagung manis Sime Plantations Sdn Bhd (Sime Plantations) di Changlun, semalam.

Pengeluaran hasil tani tinggi mampu tingkat taraf hidup

CHANGLUN: Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi mahu semua pihak yang terbabit dalam aktiviti pertanian menggunakan benih berkualiti bagi menjamin hasil pengeluaran yang tinggi. Perdana Menteri berkata, hasil pengeluaran yang tinggi itu secara langsung dapat meningkatkan taraf pendapatan mereka yang menyertai kegiatan berkenaan. "Dengan biji benih yang baik dan bermutu sesebuah kawasan yang terhad dapat memberikan hasil yang banyak.
"Hasil yang baik itu juga akan mendorong petani berusaha lebih kuat lagi bagi meningkatkan pendapatan mereka kerana mereka akan nampak pekerjaan itu berbaloi dengan keringat yang dicurahkan. "Sebaliknya jika menggunakan benih yang tidak berkualiti, hasil yang diperoleh petani tidak baik menyebabkan mereka cepat bosan dan menganggap usaha itu tidak berbaloi," katanya selepas melawat ladang jagung manis Sime Plantations Sdn Bhd (Sime Plantations), anak syarikat Sime Darby Bhd di sini, semalam. Hadir sama, isteri beliau, Datin Seri Jeanne Abdullah; Menteri Besar, Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid; Ketua Pegawai Eksekutif Kumpulan Sime Darby, Datuk Seri Ahmad Zubir Murshid; Pengarah Urusan Sime Plantations, Datuk Azhar Abdul Hamid dan Ketua Pegawai Eksekutif Kedah Agro Industries Bhd, I Ting.
Ladang jagung manis seluas 80.9 hektar di Bukit Tangga itu adalah fasa pertama daripada keseluruhan 320 hektar yang akan dimajukan dengan projek berkenaan, satu daripada komponen penting Wilayah Ekonomi Koridor Utara (NCER). Ia dilaksanakan secara usaha sama antara Sime Plantations dengan anak syarikat kerajaan negeri, Kedah Agro. Abdullah juga mahu Sime Plantations menjual sebahagian benih jagung dihasilkan di situ kepada petani di kawasan lain, khususnya di wilayah utara. "Saya yakin projek jagung ini mampu mencapai kejayaan kerana permintaan untuknya tinggi sehingga ia terpaksa diimport dan pengeluaran yang tinggi nanti membolehkan lebihan hasilnya dieksport," katanya.
Terdahulu, Azhar dalam taklimatnya berkata, projek tanaman jagung manis itu sudah berjaya menghasilkan lebih 100,000 tongkol jagung sejak ia dituai bulan lalu dan dijual secara segar di pasar raya seluruh negara. Katanya, bagi melahirkan usahawan tani, pihaknya akan melatih 600 petani dalam tempoh lima tahun bagi membolehkan mereka melaksanakan pertanian kontrak dengan syarikat itu. "Kumpulan pertama petani itu akan memulakan latihan selama enam bulan, Januari depan. Apabila beroperasi sepenuhnya nanti, ladang ini bukan saja menghasilkan jagung untuk dijual secara segar, sebaliknya yang dileraikan dan didingin beku serta ditinkan," katanya.

Malaysia's cheap pesticide sprayers pay with health

By R MageswaryIPOH, Malaysia - Kamala (not her real name) is constantly scratching her hands and complaining that they hurt. Her hands are already red and blotchy - but so is most of her body.She is a pesticide sprayer in a palm oil plantation that is just a few hours' drive from the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur. She has been working there for the past three years, the same period of time that she has had to put up with skin problems and other ailments.''When I spray the pesticides and work across the tall weeds, my clothes get drenched with the chemicals and I start itching,'' says Kamala. She also suffers from nausea and dizziness. Kamala is not alone in her ordeal, says Dr Isa Mohamad Abdul Majid of the state-run National Poisons Center. Indeed, many other sprayers have been found to be suffering worse ailments, from blurred vision to tremors to cancer.Palm oil and rubber are among Malaysia's main exports. Almost all of the pesticide sprayers at the plantations where these are grown are women because they command lower wages than men. At present, there are about 30,000 women pesticide sprayers in the country, and health experts say many of them are working without much protection from the harmful chemicals that they handle on the job.According to Sarojini Rengam of the non-government organization Pesticides Action Network (PAN), these sprayers handle pesticides classified by the World Health Organization as Class 1, such as monocrotophos, methamidophos and carbufurun. Class 1 pesticides are highly toxic substances which have to be handled according to specific instructions.Some plantation management do provide protective clothing for their workers. But more often than not, say activists, the workers themselves refuse to wear these, complaining that they are too hot.Part of the problem is that the workers are often unaware how dangerous the pesticides are. Pesticide sprayers mix the chemicals with their bare hands. At times, some even blow into the nozzles of their equipment with their mouths to remove blockages.Dr Isa says: ''There is no clean water for irrigation of the eye . . . If this happens in the field, they would normally use the closest water source such as water from the nearby stream that would usually be contaminated with the pesticides from the mixing activity.''Isa, Sarojini and Kamala were among the participants at a recent national conference on pesticides and women's health. Jointly organized by the Poisons Center, PAN and the women's NGO Tenaganita, the conference had extensive discussions on the plight of women plantation workers.Isa says all of the 72 sprayers who participated in research he conducted beginning 1992 contracted a variety of illnesses, including those that Kamala is now experiencing. The results of Isa's research, which concentrated on pesticide sprayers in palm oil and rubber plantations throughout Malaysia, were released recently.''All those interviewed have suffered either vaginal pains, burning sensation when passing urine, nausea, vomiting, difficulty breathing, skin problems, giddiness, tremors, abdominal pains, fatigue, blurred vision or discoloration of the nails,'' he says.Plantations in Malaysia have basic medical facilities. But the services they offer may no longer be adequate for the various illnesses of the workers. Vasugi (not her real name), for example, repeatedly sought medical aid from the plantation clinic for acute pains in the breast region that later also affected her throat and neck. The hospital attendant gave her huge amounts of painkillers.Still no better after a year, Vasugi went to a medical center. ''I was diagnosed with breast cancer and had one breast removed,'' she says. ''The pain is still there and the doctor thinks I could have been affected by the exposure to pesticides for six years.''According to the World Health Organization (WHO), some 37,000 cases of cancer occur annually due to exposure to pesticides. Various reports in recent WHO journals also reveal that 25 million agricultural workers in developing countries suffer an episode of pesticide poisoning each year.Moses comments that ''the severity of the symptoms and the usage of the highest toxicity pesticides'' in Malaysia ''are shocking''. But it is not as if Malaysia has no laws to prevent this happening.In fact, the Malaysian Occupational and Safety Health (OSHA) Act requires that a safety and health committee be formed if there are more than 40 sprayers in a plantation. ''But this has not been adhered to,'' says Irene Fernandez of Tenaganita. Apparently, the health ministry, which is supposed to monitor such matters, has been unable to ensure that all plantations comply with the act.The women sprayers themselves say their unions have failed to present their welfare and health issues to the management. Plantation workers here are mostly union members.Tenaganita, PAN and the Poisons Center are now working on recommendations for the government on the health problems faced by the sprayers. Among the suggestions are that the government effectively enforce the provisions under OSHA as well as a ban on all WHO Class 1 pesticides. Also listed is a call for more mechanical controls like cutters and the rearing of sheep and goats to keep the grass down. Says Sarojini: ''We have tried talking to the management about this but they say it is cheaper to employ women sprayers.''

ORGANOCHLORINE

Organochlorine (Chlorinated hydrocarbons)

1)examples of pesticides in this class:
aldrin, benzene hexachloride, carbon tetrachloride, chlordane, chloroform, chloroneb, chloropicrin, 4-CPA, D-D, DBCP, DDD, DDE, DDT, dicamba, dicofol, dieldrin, endosulfan, fenac, heptachlor, hexachlorobenzene, hexachlorophene, lindane, methoxychlor, mirex, paradichlorobenzene, PCB, PCNB, pentachlorophenol, tetrachloroethylene, toxaphene, triclopyr

2)mode of action: Interferes with transmissions of nerve impulses across axons disrupting primarily the central nervous system.

3)immediate effects: Convulsions (may occur for several days after exposure); uncoordination; induces rapid metabolism of drugs and naturally occurring steroid hormones; hypersensitivity of skin or face and extremities; headache; dizziness; nausea; vomiting; tremors; confusion; muscle weakness; involuntary eye movements; slurred speech; pain in chest and joints; skin rash; labored breathing; central nervous system stimulation followed by depression; diarrhea; brain wave disturbances; hyperthermia; hypertension; salivation; sweating.

4)long-term effects: Cumulative; transfers through placenta to fetus; found in mother's milk; carcinogens; suspect teratogens; suspect mutagens; fetotoxins; aplastic anemia; "reproductive effects"; testicular damage; eye damage; affects hormone levels; central nervous system damage; bladder, kidney, liver, lung and thyroid damage; blood and spleen damage; anemia; recurrent asthma; irregular hearbeat; atrophy of adrenal cortex; behavior changes in young of mother exposed at even low levels during pregnancy; embryotoxin; decreased fertility; immunotoxin; abnormal brain waves; increased mortality in young; teratogens; porphyria cutanea tarda; sleep disturbance; hallucinations.

5)environmental effects: Bioaccumulate; persistent; many are volatile, traveling long distances in the atmosphere and settling in distant locations; decreased fertility in birds; egg-shell thinning in birds; groundwater contaminants.

Envo-Cyper: Racun serangga berasas bahan sawit pertama di dunia

Oleh Dr Ismail Ab Raman
Bagi dapatkan kualiti produk pertanian lebih baik bahan agrokimia perlu bagi mengekalkan penghasilan bahan makanan dan serat bermutu tinggi Bahagian Kemajuan Teknologi Oleokimia, Lembaga Minyak Sawit Malaysia KERAJAAN Malaysia menekankan perlunya revolusi dalam aktiviti pertanian negara dengan cara penggunaan teknologi baru dan ‘ICT’ bagi memperoleh hasil dan kualiti produk pertanian yang lebih baik. Kajian menunjukkan bahawa penggunaan bahan agrokimia seperti racun serangga dapat meningkatkan hasil bahan pertanian dan perladangan antara 20 peratus hingga 50 peratus.
Oleh itu, bahan agrokimia adalah amat perlu bagi mengekalkan penghasilan bahan makanan dan serat yang bermutu tinggi. Anggaran 20 peratus dari pasaran racun makhluk perosak di Malaysia adalah jenis racun serangga, di mana hampir 50 peratus daripada jumlah itu adalah racun serangga berasaskan bahan pelarut dari petroleum, juga dipanggil racun serangga pekat teremulsi (EC). Bagaimanapun, pelarut terbitan petroleum menyebabkan masalah kesihatan seperti kegatalan dan radang kulit dan mata kepada pekerja di kilang pengeluaran bahan agrokimia dan di ladang pertanian.

Ramai pekerja di sektor pertanian pada masa kini lebih peka kepada keselamatan dan keselesaan mereka di dalam mengendalikan bahan kimia pertanian seperti penggunaan racun serangga berasaskan emulsi minyak dalam air (EW) berbanding jenis pekat teremulsi (EC). Kajian telah menunjukkan formulasi jenis EW mempunyai banyak kelebihan berbanding formulasi jenis EC seperti:
Formulasi berasaskan air, jadi kurang masalah kesihatan kepada pekerja.
Tiada masalah kelayuan (fitotoksik) kepada daun atau pokok tanaman.
Produk yang lebih murah atau setanding dengan produk EC.
Bahan oleokimia terbitan minyak sawit dalam produk EW pula mempunyai ciri-ciri mesra alam, mudah terurai, tidak mudah terbakar, dan kurang menyebabkan masalah kesihatan kepada pengguna. Pada 2000, Dr Ismail Ab Raman, Pegawai Penyelidik Kanan dari Bahagian Kemajuan Teknologi Olekimia, MPOB mengambil inisiatif menjalankan kajian penggunaan bahan sawit dalam penghasilan racun serangga emulsi minyak dalam air (EW) (rajah 2). Projek ini mendapat sokongan penuh dari Syarikat Pengeluar Tempatan bahan oleokimia terbitan minyak sawit. Ujian bioefikasi peringkat makmal ke atas serangga perosak tropika menunjukkan racun serangga EW menunjukkan prestasi setanding dengan racun serangga komersial EC bagi mengawal serangga perosak itu. Kerjasama antara MPOB - Imaspro Resources Sdn Bhd Teknologi penghasilan racun serangga EW dipamerkan di Pameran Pemindahan Teknologi, MPOB pada 2004 dan mendapat perhatian daripada beberapa syarikat pengeluar bahan agrokimia tempatan. Pada 2005, Syarikat Imaspro Resources Sdn Bhd membuat beberapa perbincangan untuk proses pemindahan teknologi ini. Perjanjian ditandatangani di Seminar Pemindahan Teknologi MPOB, 27 Jun 2006 bagi Pemindahan Teknologi Produk `Palm EW-Cypermethrin 5.5 %' (skala makmal) kepada Imaspro Resources Sdn Bhd dan di serahkan kepada anak Syarikatnya, Imaspro Biotech Sdn Bhd untuk tujuan pengkomersilan. Daripada perjanjian itu, MPOB-Imaspro Biotech Sdn Bhd bersetuju menjalankan aktiviti penyelidikan lanjutan seperti:
Menjalankan kajian ladang penggunaan ‘Palm EW-Cypermethrin 5.5%' bagi menentukan keberkesanan produk EW dalam mengawal serangga perosak seperti kumbang badak dan kesan fitotok-sisitinya ke atas pokok kelapa sawit muda (rajah 3).
Menjana perubahan proses teknologi produk hak milik MPOB (skala makmal) kepada skala ‘pilot plant’ dan mengoptimakan parameter-parameter proses pengeluaran dan kawalan mutu.
Mengumpul dan menyediakan data pendaftaran produk itu dengan Lembaga Makhluk Perosak Malaysia.
Mencipta atau mengadaptasi dan melabur bagi pembuatan reaktor pemprosesan untuk pengeluaran skala komersil, dan seterusnya proses memasarkan produk tersebut. Kajian ladang selama lapan bulan mendapati racun serangga EW-cypermethrin berasaskan bahan oleokimia terbitan minyak sawit menunjukkan kesan setanding atau lebih baik berbanding racun serangga komersial di dalam mengawal kerosakan pokok kelapa sawit oleh kumbang badak dan serangga perosak lain. Produk racun serangga EW-cypermethrin 5.5 %(w/w) didaftarkan di Lembaga Racun Makhluk Perosak Malaysia oleh Imaspro Biotech Sdn Bhd dan diberi nama komersial sebagai 'ENVO-CYPER' Produk ini dilancarkan secara rasmi sempena hari Seminar Pemindahan Teknologi MPOB pada 18 Jun 2007. Syarikat Imaspro Biotech Sdn Bhd mensasarkan sebanyak 20 peratus daripada pasaran racun serangga jenis cypermethrin di Malaysia bagi tahun pertama pengeluaran produk ENVO-CYPER (StarBiz, 20 Jun 2007).

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