RM38.3 MLN ALLOCATED TO REACTIVATE RUBBER PLANTATIONS, BENEFITING 8,890 SMALLHOLDERS – DEWAN RAKYAT TOLD

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 7 (Bernama) -- The government has allocated RM38.3 million this year to reactivate rubber plantations under the Abandoned Rubber Programme (PGT), benefiting nearly 8,890 smallholders nationwide, the Dewan Rakyat was told today.

Deputy Minister of Rural and Regional Development Datuk Rubiah Wang said that out of the total, 218 smallholders in Sarawak, particularly in Betong, had benefited, with a total value of RM1.5 million.

“Through RISDA (Rubber Industry Smallholders Development Authority), the ministry has ensured that mature but untapped rubber plantations in Sarawak are comprehensively identified based on the 2023 RISDA Census Report.

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“The report recorded a total area of 94,800 hectares involving 63,000 smallholders. As of September 2025, 793 hectares of plantations have been reactivated through the PGT,” she said during the question-and-answer session.

She was replying to a question from Datuk Dr Richard Rapu @ Aman Begri (GPS-Betong), who asked about the ministry’s long-term plans to ensure that mature but untapped rubber plantations in Sarawak can be reactivated through the 2025 PGT and beyond, including productivity targets for the next five to 10 years as well as strategies for rubber price and market support.

Rubiah said PGT will continue to be strengthened under the 13th Malaysia Plan (13MP), with a target to reactivate 3,100 hectares of untapped rubber plantations in Sarawak — about 625 hectares a year — to boost sustainable rubber production.

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“Through this effort, the ministry expects rubber production to increase sustainably over the next five to 10 years,” she said.

In addition, she said RISDA is expanding its group sales method and introducing the Mobile Rubber Marketing Programme (PGB), involving five vehicles in Sarawak and two more to be added under 13MP, to help smallholders enjoy fairer prices.

Responding to a supplementary question from Richard on current initiatives to encourage smallholders to return to rubber cultivation, Rubiah said the government offers various incentives and support, including through the implementation of the Abandoned Rubber Plantation Recovery Programme.

She said the programme provides assistance such as fertilisers, herbicides, a tapping tools set and plantation maintenance worth RM3,600 per hectare, implemented through RISDA’s subsidiary, RISDA Plantation Sdn Bhd.

“Our efforts to improve the income of rubber smallholders are ongoing, including through the introduction of a RM3 incentive ceiling price and the monsoon season aid,” she said.

According to Rubiah, the ministry will also propose new measures to the government to ensure the productivity value per hectare of smallholder-operated rubber plantations can be increased, thereby boosting their yields and income.

“We believe with such proposals, we can increase rubber output and also encourage smallholders to continue cultivating rubber,” she said.

-- BERNAMA