Tobacco farmers urged to grow ground nuts
BACHOK, Sun: Former tobacco farmers, especially in Kelantan and Terengganu, are encouraged to plant Margenta ground nuts, a variety which can give a yield of up to 3.87 tonnes per hectare each season.
Deputy Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Minister Datuk Rohani Abdul Karim said the crop could provide farmers with an income of at least RM2,000 a month per hectare in three months.
She said some 6,000 hectares of farm land in Bachok, previously used for tobacco farming, could be used to plant the ground nuts.
A research conducted by the Malaysian Agriculture Research and Development Institute (MARDI)found that the ground nut was suitable to be planted on peat soil, she said after launching the Margenta ground nut faming project at the Telong Mardi station here today.
She said that by planting the crop, farmers could help the government reduce import of the commodity from China and India, which was worth RM48 million a year.
