WHAT are the latest trends in agriculture in Malaysia?
PRETTY BLOOMS: Orchids on display at the show.
Do you want to know more about soiless potting mix? What ideas would you like to gather on agrotourism?
If you have more than 20 acres of land lying idle, would you like to grow gaharu, the newest green gold?
MAHA International 2012 is Malaysia Agriculture, Horticulture and Agrotourism International Show. This biggest Malaysian agricultural show was held at Malaysia Agro Exposition Park Serdang in Selangor from Nov 23 to Dec 2.
The MAHA Exposition biennial series is the country’s leading agricultural show. Hosted by the Agriculture and Agro-Based Industries Ministry, it certainly is among the largest and most comprehensive of its kind in the region, if not Asia, according to one of the pamphlets given out.
Thousands of young bright-eyed volunteers had come to work at the MAHA Park, at the same time learning from the valuable exposure.
While friends and relatives came to support those who had won prizes in the Agriculture Technology and Innovation Competitions and Product Competitions, the Agro Bazaar was an eye opening experience for hobbyists and Malaysians seeking a good bargain.
A visit on the penultimate day (Dec 1) was a revelation. What a gargantuan show!
OUTDOOR TOUR: A tractor-drawn mini-bus taking visitors on an outdoor tour of the exhibition area.
Special day
A family of three generations of Malaysians queued up patiently to take the shuttle from the carpark to this biennial show. Two shuttle buses passed by packed to the ceiling with more than 40 passengers each.
As the family moved slowly to the front of the queue, the grandfather said: “My friends from Kedah will also come. We had been coming for the past several shows. In the future, I think my children will come on their own. It’s something very good. I encourage it.”
The old-timer revealed this was his fourth attendance at the show. And this time around, he was introducing the show to his new son-in-law (and the new-born baby) – it was going to be a good educational outing for the family.
A haji and his wife enjoyed the laksa made specially for the 2,000-table tented food court that catered to visitors from all over the country.
He spoke excellent English and went off to buy plated food for himself and what his wife told him to get — a bowl of laksa at the furthest stall.
A group of Sarawakians enjoyed their food, sharing the table with the haji and his wife. The former ordered otak otak, satay and duck rice.
Soon the kind gentleman arrived with a bowl of laksa for the haji’s wife and a plate of mixed rice for the haji.
In typical Malaysian courteous manner, the haji jemput makan. In response, the Sarawakians were happy to let him know they had had their fill of duck rice and other delicacies.
“It’s very nice to meet friendly people from Sarawak today. And we share a table here. Who knows my wife and I will visit Miri and Kuching in the future. God willing,” he said.
The MAHA gave people of all races the opportunity to share a table and make polite conservation.
Exceptional booths
Two exceptional show booths received a lot of visitors, according to MAHA volunteers.
The Gaharu booth attracted many callers, so did the Palm Oil Cooking Oil booth which, among others, staged a demo by local famous chef Florence Tan who graciously allowed visitors to take photos with her while she was articulating the finer points of her scrumptious nyonya chicken curry.
Had the area been bigger, a few hundred people would have queued up to get a free plate of her curry for lunch at the end of her cooking demo.
SPECIAL DISH: A nyonya curry cooking demo in progress.
The friendly Florence gave lots of tips on how best to cook nyonya curry. Furthermore, her neat and nice hairstyle and admirable kebaya made housewives realise that cooking need not necessarily make one a dull and untidy looking female (or male).
At the gaharu booth, an effable Suhaimi explained how inoculation and inducement could be done on a plant. The display shelf contained enough gaharu to buy a new Proton Saga!
One of the volunteers suggested that visitors should join the Seminar Gaharu, Seminar Kebangsaan Dan Pameran Gaharu 2012, sponsored by Fakulti Perhutanan UPM at Fakulti Putra Malaysia, UPM Serdang, Selangor, on December 18 and 19, 2012. The fees are RM650 per person.
Youthful volunteers from all over Malaysia who are students of UPM, gathered around to help Suhaimi out.
Some visitors even put down their contacts and details for growing gaharu as a joint venture with UPM.
It was an amazing experience visiting all the booths at the Park. A visitor remarked one day was actually not enough to visit all the booths and sections.
Congratulations to Senia Juni who won first and third prizes for basketry. She did Sarawak proud with her works.
In the basketry and weaving section, many women gathered to admire the fine works of the craftsmen and craftswomen. The section was called the Prizes Section where works of the winners were displayed.
A final place to visit was the Agro Bazaar where fruits, fruit trees and flowering plants could be purchased.
Horticulturalists and orchard owners quickly sold off their displays and prized plants.
Healthy plants were quickly snapped up and fruits, opened up and displayed in well-packed cling filmed boxes, were also taken up in a jiffy.
Musang King durians were sold at RM10 per pack — almost 50 per cent of the public price. Heavily laden with purchases, it was not easy to walk all the way to the meeting point to take the shuttle back to the carpark.
Those coming to gather ideas collected lots of brochures for referencing. Many enterprising business people might have also made contact with the right people for the future of agriculture in their respective states.
Visitors who spent one hot (probably 40 degrees celcius) day with their children in tow or their babies in prams, left the Park happy and very satisfied.
The next MAHA will be held at the same place in 2014.