GOPENG (Oct 8): The MD2 premium pineapple planting project by Gopeng Bhd, a Bumiputera company involved in planting the fruit in a ​​404.7-hectare (ha) area here, with a total cost of RM12 million, is expected to be completed next year.

Gopeng Bhd chairman and chief executive officer Datuk Mohd Salleh Hashim said so far it has successfully planted MD2 variety of pineapple in an area covering ​​101ha after it was started in 2019. When completed, he said, the project will be the largest in the country’s northern area.

“To date, Gopeng Bhd has successfully carried out innovations in terms of planting agronomy where a standard operating procedure (SOP) for commercially planted MD2 pineapple plantations has been developed,” he said.

Mohd Salleh said this at the opening ceremony and launch of Gopeng Bhd’s Gopine Pineapple Processing and Collection Centre by Perak Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Ahmad Faizal Azumu at the Gopeng Rural Transformation Centre (RTC) here, today.

He said the company had developed several key programmes under ‘Gopine Associate' for the purpose of developing MD2 pineapple plantations, specifically to help the B40 group increase their income.

The programmes include commercial agro, a joint venture between Gopine and private and government-linked companies to develop 402ha of MD2 farms with SOP, agricultural inputs and supply of crop seeds by Gopeng Bhd which will also closely monitor the success of participants.

Meanwhile, Ahmad Faizal acknowledged the success of Gopeng Bhd in cultivating MD2 pineapple and suggested that the same endeavour be applied on other crops, especially vegetables and fruits to reduce imports and strengthen the national food security.

The Menteri Besar said his team had instructed all heads of State government-linked companies and agencies to utilise lands that had been left idle by their owners, for agricultural activities using modern technology.

“Such examples are vertical farming and indoor farming. Although our land is small, we can still get quality results in a short period of time.

“With modern technology, we can today grow vegetables indoors and they can reach a height of up to 14 storeys. Imagine if this is implemented in abandoned buildings in Ipoh city? We will definitely be able to produce more successful modern farmers,” he said.