Fresh from the farm to the table

 

Yogeswaran Letchmanan pushing a wheelbarrow of ladies’ fingers that were just harvested.

AYER KEROH: Yogeswaran Letchmanan heads out to his farm in Bukit Katil, Melaka, before the sun is up. He has a big day ahead of him.

Today, the crop of ladies’ fingers he planted 50 days ago will be harvested and by nightfall, his vegetables will be served in homes and restaurants in Kuala Lumpur, some 200km away.

This farm-to-table concept, which is becoming increasingly popular around the world, is made possible by the Federal Agricultural Marketing Authority (Fama).

Once he has finished harvesting the vegetables, Yogeswaran delivers them to a collection centre run by Fama.

Yogeswaran and his partner sorting vegetables based on grade.

There, the vegetables would be sorted out based on two grades, grade premium and grade I, according to their length and sizes.

The process takes around 15 minutes, after which Fama pays Yogeswaran for his harvest according to the agreement he signed with the agency when he began farming.

Under this agreement, Fama helps Yogeswaran transport his crops to local markets, ensuring that the vegetables reach the marketplace.

When met at one of the local markets, known as Agrobazaar Rakyat, Melaka Fama deputy director Amir Azlan Jamil said the agency’s purpose was to help eliminate middlemen who eat into farmers’ earnings.

“This also allows consumers to buy vegetables at lower prices, which helps reduce their cost of living. At the same time, when there is no middleman, small farmers like Yogeswaran can keep all of their profits,” he said.

Amir added that all vegetables brought directly from the farm to these markets are guaranteed fresh.

Aside from helping farmers to sell their products to local markets, Fama also assists them by processing and exporting their products to other countries. To date, it has established 16 processing centres, of which 12 are for frozen fruits and four for fresh fruits.

At the frozen fruit processing centres, fruits like durians, jackfruits, corn, cempedak and mangoes undergo minimal processing.

Yogeswaran and officers signing an agreement to sell his vegetables to the agency.

The fresh fruit processing centres, on the other hand, help farmers who do not have a factory to produce quality food products that comply with market requirements and standards set by the authorities of various countries.

From these processing centres, the products are shipped to other countries, such as China and Australia.

“That, in essence, is how farmers are able to use Fama’s support and guidance in seeing their fresh and nutritious products move from farm to table.”

- FMT