Growing coffee in Malaysia is proving to be lucrative for local farmers who now have a steady income thanks to Nestle.
Farmer Che Nai Hassan, 57, who has for the past 11 years grown Robusta coffee on his 2ha farm in Kampung Bandar Hilir, in Sik, Kedah, said he has not looked back and sometimes has grown 20 tonnes in a year.
Farmer Che Nai Hassan raking the coffee beans as they dry in the sun, at his farm in Kedah. Photo: The Star/N. Trisha“I have 2,500 trees on my land. I sell (the coffee) to Nestle and others.
“I run it with the help of three helpers,” he said.
Che Nai, who was seen drying the coffee beans in his self-built “glasshouse” recently, said the process takes 10 to 14 days, based on the weather.
“If it’s hot, then 10 days. If not, longer. And they must be raked daily,” he said.
Romlah Hamid, 67, who is the sole breadwinner in her house, said running the nursery has helped her tremendously as she has to care for her ailing husband and daughter.
“It does take effort and, at my age, I have to sit down when I check the plants and water them but being able to work from home is great.
“I can check on them in between cooking and other chores. I check them for pests and trim off the leaves that have dried. I can handle 200 plants at a time,” she said.
Romlah who lives in Bandar Baru Beris Jaya in Sik, cares for around 10,000 coffee plants at any one time. She said she earns a good monthly income without the need to leave her home.
Jamaliah Ahmad, 51, who runs a nursery in Kampung Sungai Pau, also in Sik, with her husband said she used to be a rubber tapper who earned RM500 a month but now can make around RM30,000 a year from tending coffee plants.
“We care for around 10,000 pots but usually end up selling only around 9,000, taking into account that some of them are not viable.
Jamaliah Ahmad tending to the coffee plants at the nursery in her house compound, in Kedah. Photo: The Star/N. Trisha“When I wake up, I water them, then check if the leaves are drying and pluck them off to make sure the plant looks good and does not have any bugs.
“Then at night, after all my household chores are done, my husband and I sit and ‘marry’ the plants.
“We can do up to 300 a night,” she said.
People, planet and profit
Nestle (Malaysia) Berhad Agriculture Services Manager Chong Chin Yin said since 1985 they have established farmers-connect programmes in Malaysia where they work with the farmers and carry out initiatives.
“The aim is to help them increase their yield. Whenever we initiate any agricultural project, the first thing we look into is people, planet and profit.
“We need to take care of the people and help them develop and profit, meaning we want them to gain a good yield.
“We can then have access to good quality raw material and, at the same time, the environment is cared for.
“To us, this is creating shared value – they grow the raw material and we need it – so it becomes a sustainable way to produce raw material,” he said.
Nestle Manufacturing Sdn Bhd Agriculture Services Manager Chong Chin Yin showing the Robusta coffee fruits from Nestle’s Nescafe Grown Respectfully mother plant plantation in Kedah. Photo: The Star/N. Trisha
Chong said they started the Nescafe Grown Respectfully in Kedah in 2019.
“We started this project to get more farmers on board, and we are looking forward to working with them.
“This is a way to increase their income as there is an added income from coffee beans apart from their other crops.
“We have reached out to more than 200 farmers,” he said.
He said the collaboration between Nestle Malaysia’s Agricultural Services Department and the Kedah Economic Department of Agriculture (Keda) began in the early 1990s.
“A three-acre (1.2ha) plot for the mother plant nursery was established with the aim of supporting the development of local coffee farming while helping farmers increase their source of income.
“In 2019, the collaboration was expanded to the Nescafe Grown Respectfully programme with the partnership of the Federal Land Development Authority (Felda), the Kedah State Department of Agriculture (KSDA) and Keda.
“The programme was established with the aim of reviving the local coffee farming sector and cultivating a more inclusive and sustainable future for the sector, while supporting the nation’s food security and uplifting local communities and farmers.
Nestle Malaysia Berhad coffee farming consultant Abdul Razak Jaarif (left) speaking to one of the workers on Nestle’s Nescafe Grown Respectfully mother plant plantation in Kedah. Photo: Nestle“It provides training on seedling production, setting up of coffee farms and good agricultural practices, including regenerative agriculture (intercropping, agroforestry, cover cropping) alongside increasing productivity, reducing farm costs, minimising environmental impact and enhancing farmer work efficiency.
“It inculcates good agricultural ethics by focusing on three key pillars: Respect farmers, respect the farming community and respect our planet,” he said.
Kedah coffee
Chong said globally, Nestle conducts active farmer field programmes in 16 countries, with 250 million coffee plantlets distributed to farmers since 2010.
“The key achievements of the programme in Malaysia include positively impacting more than 200 farmers.
“More than 270,000 Robusta coffee have been raised with technical support from Nestle for planting across 150 acres (60.7ha) of land in Kedah and Perak.
“Through the programme, Nestle Malaysia launched its first 100% homegrown coffee, Nescafe Classic Kopi Kedah,” he said.
He said Nestle purchased 100 metric tonnes of Kedah-grown coffee beans for Nescafe Classic Kopi Kedah in 2021.
“Our mother plant nursery in Sik has been rehabilitated as well to provide adequate planting materials for coffee seedling production,” he said.