ROSELLE MAY SAVE FARMERS

Petikan dari akhbar The star pada 24 Julai 2006

KOTA BARU: A group of Universiti Malaya scientists have unveiled a new hybrid of roselle that could prove to be the saviour of tobacco farmers in Kelantan.

The new hybrid, the result of cross-cultivation of roselle plants from

Ghana and China, has been identified as a suitable crop to replace tobacco as roselle thrives in the same soil.

USEFUL CROP: Agriculture official Mohamed Redza Baba (left) briefing Abdul Rahim on the roselle plant at a function in Kota Baru Sunday.

Tobacco farmers have been facing hardship lately because of low demand from domestic and international markets as a result of increasing health consciousness.

A group of 76 farmers yesterday signed a contract with manufacturers RMZ Products Sdn Bhd and state government-owned Murni Marketing Sdn Bhd to supply roselle.

Federal Agriculture Marketing Authority (Fama) chairman Abdul Rahim Bakri, who witnessed the signing, said the farmers would supply roselle to the companies, which would process it for export.

Abdul Rahim said the university's roselle hybrid was scientifically-proven to be rich in vitamins and citric acid.

The finished product can be in the form of juice, jam, jelly and even cosmetics.

Abdul Rahim said Fama's aim was to help tobacco farmers phase out the crop, and as such Fama would not expand roselle farming to other areas.