With economically unsustainable metroxylon sagu (sago palms) found in peat lands, small scale farmers are gradually converting their land to oil palm cultivation. Good agriculture practices (GAP) were inculcated to peat land farmers to ensure that the environmental ecosystem is conserved and oil palm productivity is enhanced, along with the farmer’s well-being. The present study examined the effect of GAP on farm performance and the perceived economic well-being of the peat land oil palm farmers. We interviewed randomly selected farmers with assistance from a locally trained native enumerator to complete the survey questionnaire. We conducted partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) to incorporate direct and indirect benefits on farmers’ economic well-being to estimate the significance of GAP. The empirical results show that GAP have direct positive effects on farm performance. Such practices lead to significant positive impacts on the economic well-being of peat land oil palm farmers. This solid evidence makes it much easier for small-scale farmers to convert from conventional farming to environmentally friendly farming, and ensures safe and healthy oil palm cultivation.
Several oil palm sustainable certification schemes have been introduced in Malaysia such as MPOB Codes of Good Agricultural Practices (MPOB CoGAP) Certification, Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) certification, and Malaysia Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO) Certification. All these certifications have been successfully accepted in many of the oil palm estates except the ISH. There is a big challenge to certify the Malaysian ISH because they are lack farm management practice. Therefore, Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) has introduced the individual sustainable certification to the ISH, which is known as Good Agricultural Practice (GAP) certification. This paper's main objectives are to identify the GAP acceptance level (compliant, partial-compliant, and non-compliant) recommended by MPOB and determine the factors affecting GAP certification acceptance among the ISH in Malaysia. This study was conducted in all states in Malaysia, and the data were collected from a total of 400 respondents selected through the Proportionate Random Sampling Method. The results showed that 58% of the ISH partially comply by receiving the GAP certificate. while only 26% fulfilled the requirements, thus eligible for GAP certification. Two factors that significantly influenced the GAP compliance among the ISH were the respondents' education level and the age of palm oil plantation. The results of this study indicated that GAP on fertiliser application and record-keeping were adopted by the ISH and significantly affecting their compliant level of MPOB GAP Certification among ISH.
Soil and water conservation practices (SWC) which are included in the Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) for oil palm production are essential to be adopted by oil palm growers in order to maintain the quality of natural resources and adhere to the environmental conservation. At present, no scientific study has been carried out to indicate the level of knowledge and adoption of SWC among the independent oil palm smallholders (ISH). This study was aimed to evaluate the knowledge and current adoption of SWC among members of the Saratok Sustainable Oil Palm Growers Cooperative. The quantitative and qualitative research methods applied to evaluate the level of SWC knowledge and adoption by oil palm smallholders were based on the checklist in the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) and Malaysia Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO). The data collected were via in-situ observation and face-to-face interviews with respondents. The results of the study indicated that the level of smallholders' knowledge on SWC practices is high, however, the adoption level is still low. Recommendations based on the research affirmed that incentive/assistance scheme from the government is necessary to help and encourage ISH and the MSPO certification becomes mandatory for the cooperatives to ensure that the SWC is adopted by ISH for their long-term benefit.
The main objective of the extension group is to disseminate the oil palm technologies to the independent oil palm smallholders (ISH). However, since the beginning of the establishment of the extension group in the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) in 2002, there is no clear information on the acceptance level of ISH toward extension service activities by this group. Therefore, the main objectives of this study are to determine the perception and attitude of ISH toward the extension service activities by extension group and to identify the association between the level of perception and attitude of ISH toward extension activities with ISH personal profile and farm background. Based on the total population in the study area, the number of samples to be selected in this study is 384 respondents. Interview administrated questionnaires were employed to obtain the relevant data. The study revealed that the total average mean of respondents’ perception and attitude towards extension service activities is 3.99 which belongs to the category of high score range (3.67 – 5.00). Therefore, it shows that ISH has a positive perception and attitude towards extension service which can lead to the high acceptance level of extension service activities by extension group among ISH. Other than that, based on the chi-square analysis, it shows that different demographic profiles significantly influence the level of perception & attitude of ISH toward extension activities. The findings of this study will assist the extension group in MPOB to re-strategize and further improve its extension service while contributing to future studies.
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