SEBERANG PERAI, Feb 23 ― One of the main economic drivers in Seberang Perai is agriculture. Till today, particularly in northern Seberang Perai, almost half of the residents are farmers or involved in the agriculture industry, be it fruits farms, vegetables farms, livestock or padi.
The district covers the old town of Butterworth and spreads up to Tasek Gelugor where padi fields, vegetable and poultry farms are aplenty.
While Think City has embarked on an urban regeneration programme in old town Butterworth to rejuvenate the former administrative centre of Seberang Perai, this important agriculture component of the district can't be ignored.
One of the agencies that has been giving a helping hand to the development of agriculture and the local economy in the district is Perda Ventures Incorporated (PVI) which is the implementing arm of the Penang Regional Development Authority (Perda).
PVI was established in 2007 to implement Perda projects in Penang and its four main activities are housing development, agro-industry, cleaning services and events at Midtown Perda.
Malay Mail Online spoke to PVI's chief executive officer Mohd Zulkifli Ibrahim on the agency’s plans for the agro-industry in Seberang Perai.
PVI Veggie Park
The veggie park covers around 300 hectares in Ara Kuda, north Seberang Perai and was first established in 2010.
“We have 17 local farmers who are participants in the veggie park growing local vegetables such as ladies fingers, bitter gourd, cucumber, corn, chillies and long beans,” he said.
A total RM10 million was invested in the veggie park to help local farmers who wish to have larger pieces of land for farming but cannot afford renting it; the park is partially subsidised, complete with infrastructure such as greenhouses, piping and trellises.
“We have plans to expand it another 40 hectares and open a division on super fruits,” he said.
He added that local farmers will be given a chance to grow high impact fruits that will bring higher income for them.
“We are looking at fruits like passion fruits and dragonfruits that sell for higher prices compared to vegetables,” he said.
The produce from the vegetable park are sold at local markets and hyper markets but the super fruits will be for the export market.
“These won't only be for the local market but also export so it will bring in more income as the local farmers do not earn high income from vegetables,” he said.
Other than the veggie park, PVI has its own commercial goat and turkey farms. The mutton and turkey are for local consumption and usually bought by locals for special events.
Agro Trading Centres
With plans to expand the farms under PVI, Zulkifli said they also have plans to set up trading centres for the farmers so they can sell direct to consumers.
“We are now identifying areas where we can set up trading centres at commercial areas in Kepala Batas and Sungai Dua so that there is plenty of traffic for better sales,” he said.
PVI is also looking to co-operate with other land owners to set up these trading centres as well as similar veggie and fruit farms on the mainland.
“The farmers are all low income earners so they can't expand their farms... so we want to collaborate with other land owners to set up more farms for them,” he said.
This is to open up local farm produce to the market and increase their income in the long run, he added.
Cleaning services
It may seem odd for a development company to be offering cleaning services for commercial and residential premises but this is an important component for PVI.
“It is actually our corporate social responsibility as we have this services to provide employment for single mothers and the unemployed,” he said.
PVI only hires locals as cleaners and it currently has more than 40 full-time workers. “There are housewives, single mothers and jobless locals who need a source of income and we opened this division to help them,” he said.
He said they are currently looking for long-term cleaning projects such as for offices and factories so they can then hire more locals. “We hire strictly locals only, no foreigners at all,” he said.
Housing and Midtown Perda
PVI is also a developer that builds residential, commercial and small industrial parks.
“We currently have 10 development projects in the pipeline for Tasek Gelugor, Ara Kuda, Pongsu Seribu, Sungai Dua and Kepala Batas,” he said.
Out of the 10, they are still waiting for approvals from the local authorities for seven projects but they are confident they will get the approvals soon.
“Our projects are mixed developments with commercial and residential components but a major portion are affordable housing priced below RM400,000 on the island and below RM250,000 on the mainland,” he said.
Recently, PVI completed its RM9 million Midtown complex sprawled over 5.2 hectares of land at Kubang Menerong in Tasek Gelugor, tucked within oil palm estates and vegetable farms.
“We have two large function halls in this complex for events and weddings with a capacity of up to 3,000 pax,” he said.
There is also a wide space for a Sunday market each week where locals can set up stalls to sell non-food items such as clothing, headscarves and kitchen utensils.
PVI is also based in the Midtown Perda complex.
Perda Ventures Incorporated Sdn Bhd,
Lot PT 711, MK 12, Jalan Kubang Menerong,
13300 Tasek Gelugor,
Seberang Perai Utara, Pulau Pinang.
Email: [email protected]
Tel: 04-5737859
* Think City is currently undertaking urban regeneration programmes for Butterworth, George Town, Kuala Lumpur and Johor. Find out more about Think City and its projects at thinkcity.com.my.
