By Norrasyidah Arshad
SHAH ALAM, Feb 5 — Vanilla plants will be cultivated in the state following the product's yield giving a good return thus guaranteeing profit for the economic sector.
State executive councillor for infrastructure and agriculture Izham Hashim said product prices have exceeded RM3,000 a kg, therefore it should be taken advantage of since the land in the state is low and suitable for the crops involved.
"Vanilla can be processed as a paste, powder or liquid and is widely used as the basic ingredient of downstream products such as ice cream, cakes and cosmetics.
The price of a kilo of vanilla powder reaches almost RM3,000 and the liquid form is more expensive.
"This plan will be successful through high-value agriculture under the Selangor Agro Transformation Plan Policy (PeTA). We will collaborate with Amani Vanilla Temerloh (AVT) for a pilot project," said Izham.
Last week, Izham along with representatives of several state agencies visited AVT in Temerloh to see how the vanilla farm operates.
In July 2022, he announced the implementation of PeTA to guarantee the people's food supply and increase agricultural production by fulfilling the objectives of the National Food Security Policy Action Plan 2021-2025.
He explained that PeTA emphasized five fundamentals including high-value agriculture, modern agriculture, complete food supply chain, agropreneur development and agro-tourism.
