Fishy Venture for Meat Production

Does the name Majuternak sound familiar anyone? Or Pahangbif/Darabif perhaps? For those who do not remember, these are colossal projects set up by the government for the same purpose as what was announced by Yusof Nor. Both have collapsed. More importantly, the public has forgotten about these failures.

So now its time to repeat the same act. Only this time it’s on a grander scale.

By Nigel 

FELDA’s announcement to invest RM688 million to venture into the business of meat production does smell fishy to those who understand and follow developments in the local livestock industry. The stated goal, according to its chairman, Yusof Nor is to establish the largest cattle rearing operation in South East Asia. Hows that for thinking outside the box?

The project is due to start in the third quarter of 2010.

Meanwhile, according to sources, the Minister of Agriculture is in Australia looking around for a farm to acquire – something his predecessor also tried to do. Of course Muhyiddin was promoted for his effort which (thank goodness!!) did not materialise.

Let me just explain why I think this is just an expensive ego trip at the expense of the FELDA settlers that will ultimately benefit no one except the foreign JV partners.

First, let us just look at what happened with previous efforts. Does the name Majuternak sound familiar anyone? Or Pahangbif/Darabif perhaps? For those who do not remember, these are colossal projects set up by the government for the same purpose as what was announced by Yusof Nor. Both have collapsed. More importantly, the public has forgotten about these failures.

So now its time to repeat the same act. Only this time it’s on a grander scale.

Before I proceed, can anyone show me a livestock project undertaken by the government and its agencies in its 52 years in power that have not failed?  They have ALL failed miserably. Absolutely no exception. The Majuternak land in Behrang is today the base for Proton City. The Darabif land in now an oil palm plantation.

Go back to your kampongs – you will hear something about the government schemes – chickens, goats, sheep, fish, cattle the works – they have all failed.  And whilst you are there, just ask around. There is bound to be a farm owned by Jabatan Haiwan, RISDA, FELDA, FELCRA, LPP you name it that was set up to be the biggest in some form or another that has now been abandoned. And millions – possibly billions have gone down the drain in the last 52 years with nothing to show for.

Just drive down to Seremban and you will see the UPM farm on your right with nothing on it. Finally, DrM had to step in and UPM spent RM25 million to make it look “European” to tourists taking a train ride between KLIA to KL Sentral! Complete with Friesian dairy cattle which of course have now all died!!

Then there was PM Badawi who made the decision to start a goat breeding project in Kepala Batas – to produce Boer Goats. PERDA was given the task and a University professor – a goat expert was appointed the advisor. After spending a few million rakyat ringgits, the project has today also been abandoned. Mind you that was in Kepala Batas – Badawi’s own constituency.

Anyway, I leave the side stories for a later posting. Now, back to Yusof Nor and his announcement.

First, can anyone really believe this great tokoh Maal Hijrah is capable of fathoming the issues surrounding the livestock industry when coming face to face with the project’s Indian and Australian partners? And do you really believe he knows what it takes to set up this crazy idea of biggest project in SE Asia?

 “I’m sure they have expertise to figure out the details” you might say. Sure they do. Look how many qualified vets were involved in ALL the livestock projects in Malaysia. The Jabatan Haiwan, MARDI, UPM, UM are all staffed by highly qualified experts in the field of animal husbandry. Just go to jabatan Haiwan and ask them to show you their farms. Go to UPM and MARDI Serdang and see for yourself how much have been achieved by these Veterinary experts. I can guarantee you they will be hard pressed to show you something.

Some will say chicken and pig farming have been very successful. Of course they are. And the simple reason for this? These same government experts I referred to are not involved!

Lets now look at FELDA’s partners in the venture.

First there is Allana & Sons, the Indian component of the JV. They are a Mumbai based company. They apparently will supply the animal feed. Which means there’s a guaranteed cashflow for them to ride on over the next few years – until the FELDA settlers’ RM688 million runs dry.

And for those who do not know, Allana & Sons are the biggest supplier of Indian buffalo meat to the Malaysian market. Of course the government refers to Indian buffalo meat as “Indian Beef”.  It’s cheap and basically a good source of protein. Good for the Malays especially those doing business in running food stalls. (You might wish to note however that even Indonesia does not want this meat!!) The Indians don’t eat beef. The Chinese will not touch Indian Beef.

So if you are a supplier of meat to the Malaysian market which Allana & Sons is, would you want your partner (FELDA) to be so successful as to one day replace you as the main supplier of meat to the Malaysian market? You figure out the answer.

Meanwhile, the government will continue to be on Allana’s side on the issue of whether or not Indian Beef is safe for consumption.

Next there’s AAC, the Australian Agricultural Company Ltd. AAC is a big farming organization in Australia. Presumably they will provide the expertise as well as the animals for the project. How nice for AAC to be able to plan its export activities knowing fully well that there’s the settlers’ stash of RM688 million waiting to be drawn down as and when your animals leave the Australian port.

If you are AAC, will your objective be to help turn FELDA into the biggest cattle company in SE Asia and compete with you? Or would you rather focus n the RM688 million and further develop and expand your business in Australia? Again you figure it out.

In livestock, its not very difficult to subtly introduce problems without being discovered if and when you want the project to fail. For example, if I want you to lose money, I will supply you cattle that grow at 1 kg per day instead of one that grows at 2 kg a day. If FELDA ultimately finds out, blame the feeding, quality of feed, climate, hygiene, care –  there’s just no end to the list.

And at the end of the day, there’s always the peneroka FELDA who can be blamed for the ultimate failure.

As for Yusof Nor, he does not have to worry. He is a tokoh Maal Hijrah – proven track record and therefore absolutely trustworthy. Never mind if he does not know what he is doing. Never mind if in the end, the project fails as it surely will. FELDA has done everything to help them. It’s “takdir, tak ada rezeki … sabar”. Be grateful that they still have their land.

As for the AAC and Allana & Sons, they will no doubt be that much better off after the RM688 million is gone. Plus they get to continue with whatever business activities they have in Malaysia.