kluang, johor
only from my point of view...
as we headed down south this time for the production of agro-xplorasi. destination...kluang town in the southern state of johor, famous for its coffee (yup, i can attest to that). interesting, coz i've never been here in kluang before and also because of the subject that we are going to cover for this episode...organic farming. have heard and read about it before but don't really know much about it. so, what does organic farming really means? well, simply put it means when you grow your greens, plants and fruits you must conciously and strictly restrain yourself from using any chemicle-based fertilizers or pesticides. your farm or plantation must be totally free from them. even the water source that you use. to nourish the plants, to keep bugs and diseases away from them...everything must be done using natural or organic sources.
fertile land...a gift from Allah The Almighty
organically grown food is fast gaining popularity globally. not so much in malaysia generally but the trend is picking up especially in urban and city centres. more and more people are turning to organic produce (am sure many had heard horror story about vegies coming down from highland of cameron). organically grown produce has very high demand especially in europe. more time and efforts are required to grown them but organic produce fetches far better prices; between two to three times more than those produced through the conventional ways. that is why it makes perfect sense to go into this kinda biz... 
... rich in smell and nutritions (for the plants not the people)! boy, the smell of this thing is so horrendous...it sticks to your shirt for days. everything you smell is all the same...u should not try it...be at the factory site that is.
... rich in smell and nutritions (for the plants not the people)! boy, the smell of this thing is so horrendous...it sticks to your shirt for days. everything you smell is all the same...u should not try it...be at the factory site that is. our exploration took us to a hundred acre farm run by the people of zenxin agri-organic foods. apart from here in kluang, zenxin also owns about 500 more acre of land in gua musang, kelantan where they also grow and produce organic rice. from rearing chicks (the real one!) the company got the idea to go into organic farming when they see tons of smelly chick s*#t...and nobody seems to knows what to do with it. well, one bright guy got the idea, why not use it as natural fertilizer...to either use it themselves or start selling it to the open markets. that same bright guy decided to do both and the rest as they say, is history!
...zooming in on an opportunity!
zenxin organic park here in kluang is one of the 46 farms around the country so far which has been awarded with SOM (skim organik malaysia) certification issued by the department of agriculture. it is important for any organic farm to get this certification so that they can brand it as organic produce and making thier products marketable locally and internationally. note that they also managed to receive certification from the australian authority. from time to time, the farm will have to go through rigourous checks by the relevant authorities...just to make sure that they maintain their organic principles and practices. according to the department's officer we interviewed the government always welcomes those who wish to carry out organic farming as oppose to conventional farming. u make more money and it is more environmentally friendly.
...as far as the eyes can see. this is the view taken from a tower in the middle of the organic park. the park is also recognized as one of the biggest organic farm in malaysia. the view really soothes your eyes with its green seas of plants. such a drastic change from your daily surroundings of concrete jungle back in kuala lumpur. such a refreshing change of scenery. am sure you'll like it too. can't help it but by now the theme song of agro-xplorasi is playing repeatedly in my head, '...oh tanah yang subur ini, usahakan milik kita, anugerah Maha Kuasa tersimpan sejuta rahsia...'. 
taking a break with a cuppa smooth and aromatic mulberry leaf tea...aahhh.
throughout the 3 days we were here, the kind and generous people of zenxin served us many kind of wonderful organic food and drinks but the one that really stood out for me is when they served us the mulberry leaf tea. sat under the bright blue sky the tea tasted even better what with the pleasant 'pandan-like' aroma coming from the effect of boiling the dried leaf in hot water. it reminded me of the rooibos tea experience i had about 5 years ago while carrying out an assignment for malaysia airlines in south africa. unique!
watch out for the green ghost behind!
the set up here is very impressive indeed. at any one time, the people of zenxin grow at least 15 types of vege and fruit at the farm i.e. kangkung, sawi, pucuk keledek, pitaya, banana, mulberry, labu, etc. there is also a mart that sells fresh vegies, fruits, drinks, snacks, medicinal items and even organic soaps, shampoos and many more. what else do they have here in the park...there's a nursery for you to buy ornamental plants (mini cactus is hot item here) and of course, not forgetting a place for you to try out and enjoy organic food, a restaurant! yummy... 
beginning of a fresh and safe new life...
that is why my friend zenxin is also a popular tourist spot. especially during weekends or during school holidays, tourists come by the bus-load! singporeans are such common faces here at zenxin. what else to do there? u won't find such thing there in the republic. if you happen to be here, don't miss out on a guided tour of the farm where you can learn many interesting things about organic farming and even hand-pick your own vegies to take back home to. another popular activity here is that u can rent bicycles at the park and ride on exploring the unknown...
...danny 'n anna gettin' into the organic groove.
am not much of an organic junkie, i must admit. all these are new to me. personally, to me if you want to live healthily by eating organically grown food you have to first totally change your lifestyle and eating habits. it just won't do by only taking organic greens while at the same time you continue smoking tobacco (cigarette, pipe, cigar, shisha, etc) or eating fast foods (maggi mee, mcd, kfc, etc), eating canned food (sardines) or consuming alcoholic drinks, popping up modern pills prescribes by conventional doctors whenever u feel your body tempretures going up, etc. etc. to me if you want to do it, then do it right! the water you drink (u know la the quality of our drinking water) better comes treated and bottled. then only i feel it is worthwhile to go organic way...
...interviewing a mechanical engineer turned farmer.
this business is thriving and being run very well with 'organic' growth within family members (you'll meet the brothers, uncles, nephews, etc). if you happen to stop by at the mart you can even see an old man believed to be one of the grand dad of the family doing his daily walk around and about the mart's entrance with a smile and thick glasses greeting and talking to customers. ok, enuff of writing this blog post. if you wanna know more about zenxin and its people or just to learn generally about organic farming then catch agro-xplorasi...you'll see!
the official agro-xplorasi profile
tai kok kong
Bermula sebagai sebuah syarikat ternakan ayam di sekitar tahun 70an, beliau kini mengusahakan antara ladang tanaman organik yang terbesar di negara ini dengan keluasan 100 ekar yang terletak di tapak Projek Pertanian Moden Kluang, Johor.
Menyedari bahawa beliau boleh memanfaatkan sisa buangan daripada ternakan ayamnya bagi menghasilkan baja organik dan selari dengan kewujudan pasaran baru serta trend gaya hidup yang mementingkan pemakanan sihat, usahawan tani ini terus beralih mengusahakan tanaman organik berskala besar semenjak 10 tahun yang lalu.
Lebih meyakinkan beliau apabila harga hasil tanaman organiknya mendapat harga pasaran yang lebih tinggi berbanding tanaman yang dihasilkan secara konvensional. Pada setiap satu masa, ladang ini ditanam dengan sekurang-kurangnya 15 jenis sayur-sayuran dan buah-buahan yang dipasarkan di dalam negara termasuk dieksport ke pasaran Singapura.
Selain ladang tanaman organik, Zenxin juga mempelbagaikan operasinya dengan menjalankan perniagaan restoran makanan dan pasaraya berasaskan hasil tanaman organik serta membuka ladangnya bagi tujuan lawatan untuk pengunjung terutamanya kanak-kanak sekolah mengambil bahagian dalam aktiviti memetik sayur-sayuran dan belajar mengenai pemeliharaan alam sekitar.
Menerusi bimbingan pihak Kementerian, ladang ini telah berjaya mendapat pengiktirafan dan pengesahan dari dalam serta luar negara iaitu menerusi persijilan Skim Organik Malaysia (SOM) dan National Association for Sustainable Agriculture, Australia (NASAA). Kecemerlangan usahawan ini juga telah menjadikan beliau terpilih menerima Anugarah Khas MAHA 2006 daripada Kementerian Pertanian dan Industri Asas Tani Malaysia.
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