Kuala lumpur: The Malaysian Rubber Board (LGM) has announced plans to rehabilitate 4,137 hectares of abandoned plantations this year, with an additional 2,750 hectares targeted for 2027. These efforts involve smallholder farms and private estates across the nation, as stated by the Ministry of Plantation and Commodities (KPK).
According to BERNAMA News Agency, KPK is implementing recovery and rubber production enhancement efforts under the Mature Abandoned Rubber Plantation Consolidation Programme. This initiative aims to revitalize untapped and abandoned plantation areas. In a parallel effort, the Rubber Industry Smallholders Development Authority (RISDA) is pursuing rehabilitation through the Abandoned Rubber Programme (PGT), which sets an initial goal of replanting 10,000 hectares annually, engaging approximately 6,700 smallholders nationwide. A budget of RM32.4 million has been allocated for 2025, with an initial phase targeting 1,000 hectares and an allocation of RM7 million.
The ministry's strategy was outlined in a written reply to a question from Nurul Amin Hamid (PN-Padang Terap) in the Dewan Rakyat, emphasizing addressing the country's 420,000 hectares of abandoned rubber plantations. The strategy includes a clustered estate model aimed at boosting domestic production and reducing the RM7.5 billion annual expenditure on rubber imports.
KPK reported that LGM is currently in the early stages of a consolidation programme covering 1,008.86 hectares in collaboration with FELDA, focusing on abandoned rubber plantation areas owned by settlers. Efforts are being intensified to promote and engage with estates management companies and identify additional potential plantations, including those owned by government agencies and private estates, to expand the programme's scope.
The 2023 Rubber Smallholders Census by RISDA estimates that approximately 205,209 hectares of rubber cultivation remain untapped or abandoned, encompassing lands owned by smallholders, federal and state government agencies, and private estates. KPK highlighted the direct impact of these untapped areas on Malaysia's domestic rubber production, noting that the country imported RM7.6 billion worth of natural rubber and related products in 2024.