Golden Melon Felda Sungai Tengi Selatan gah broke through the wall of the supermarket

CYBERJAYA: Adhering to the adage of being kind to the land, the land does not lie, became the recipe for the success of the generation of Felda settlers in Sungai Tenggi Selatan, Hulu Selangor cultivating the golden melon plant, allowing the produce to enter several branches of the country’s large supermarkets and wholesale markets.

Project coordinator Suhairi Hussin, 36, said it was even more proud when the melon fertigation project, which produces round yellow-skinned fruit with white filling, successfully met the conditions and quality set by the supermarket management.

He said the project implemented under the Felda program to produce quality products with high demand in the market was aimed at increasing the income of the settlers, and up to now 139 Felda settlers in Sungai Tengi Selatan earned dividends of up to RM3,000 per person. “We cultivate golden melon plants in 33 greenhouses developed on a land area of more than four hectares using the Airhydro Watering system technology with seeds brought in from Thailand, taking into account the quality of the fruit produced as well as the cost.

“The golden melon plant was chosen because although this fruit is in widespread demand in supermarkets, there are still few who cultivate it on a large scale, besides the waiting period for the fruit is not too long, which is around 65 days. This allows us to harvest the fruit four times a year,” he said when met at the National Month and Jalur Gemilang Flag Launch Ceremony here on Sunday.

Suhairi said a greenhouse can accommodate 2,400 trees that can produce between 1.5 and 2 tons of fruit which is sold at a farm price of between RM6 and RM8 per kilogram, while the market price can reach tens of ringgit per kilogram.

In conjunction with the Launch of the National Month and the Flying of the Jalur Gemilang, he said they brought more than half a ton of golden melons which were offered at a special price of RM10 per piece at the Selangor Negeri Reruai, to promote the fruit which has a sweeter taste and is more crunchy when compared to milk melons.

Although many admire the young farmer’s ability to break through the walls of a large supermarket in a short period of time, he admits that they are actually also worried if they are not able to meet the conditions set because they do not want to waste the trust that is not easily earned.

“One of the conditions is that we need to supply two tons of fruit… hearing such a condition is a bit scary for us, because we are worried if the harvest is not enough, but Alhamdulillah, careful planning including a seed planting schedule allows us to harvest every week so that the supply is always there,” he said.

Suhairi said they chose the Airhydro Watering system technology over the traditional planting method, the method is more successful in obtaining better fruit quality, besides it is not so complicated, and does not require so many manpower.

The implementation of the golden melon fertigation project was handled by 14 youths aged between 21 and 30 years old, all of the settler generation, who among others were involved in monitoring the fertilizing process every day, while the process of spraying pesticides was done periodically.

Suhairi said following the success of the plant project, they are now aiming to penetrate overseas markets, with the initial target being Singapore next year.

“Perhaps many people see agriculture as a tiring job, when it is not true at all. When done seriously and with careful planning and the help of modern equipment and the right knowledge, it actually brings good results and is worth every sweat,” he said.