By Balkish Awang
KUALA LUMPUR: ‘Success is not handed to us on a silver platter’ is more than just a simple phrase.
The age-old proverb has served as an inspiring quote for Hashim Dahlan, 54, a fisherman from the Federal Territory of Labuan, who took a bold step by transitioning from his 20-year old fishing job to lada bara ( bird’s eye chilli variety) farming, transforming life for him and his family.
Despite the demanding life of a farmer, from tilling to tough soil to harvesting the crop and tending to the fields, he perseveres. With an average income of thousands of ringgit, he now takes pride in his role as a farmer to provide for his family.
Sharing his experience in cultivating lada bara, Hashim who started working as a coastal fisherman at 30, said his unstable income then drove him to seek for other pastures when he hit middle age.
“After several months of planting chilli, I joined a two-day course organised by the Labuan Farmers’ Organisation Authority (FOA) on lada bara cultivation. This course was held in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah.
“By utilising a 0.12 hectare land on the front yard of my house, I managed to plant 300 chilli trees through the fertigation system in early 2021,” said Hashim, who resides in Kampung Sungai Lada, Labuan, when contacted by Bernama.
In addition, the FOA has also provided him with a RM20,000 capital including for the purchase of equipment as well as polybags and chilli seedlings from online marketplace Shopee.
FOA advice and guidance
Realising his lack of knowledge in agriculture, Hashim sought advice and guidance from FOA on crop protection – a general practice of managing, improving and protecting chilli cultivation from pests and plant diseases.
“Besides the challenges of preventing from crop damages caused by insect pests, I was at first struggling to manage my lada bara cultivation.
“However, through the guidance and continuous support from the FOA including undergoing related courses, Alhamdulillah (praise to Allah), I finally acquired the knowledge in managing my lada bara farm within six months,” he shared.
He said that among the insects that could damage chilli cultivation are kutu apit (flea beetles), lalat buah (fruit flies) and hama (chilli insect pests).
Besides FOA’s financial aid, he also received a RM8,000 assistance from the Federal Territories Islamic Religious Council (MAIWP), allowing him to increase his chilli production in stages, bringing the total to 1,000 polybags currently.
“I can now harvest chilli within three and a half months after planting the seedlings,” said Hashim, who is assisted by his wife, Lasha Jepang @ Apang, 48.
The couple who have three children between the ages of 17 and 25 years, are also assisted by their children during their free time.
To date, the chilli cultivation can produce about 100 kilogrammes of the crop every month which are directly sold to traders at wet markets and grocery stalls around Labuan.
“I also sell chilli in small packets of 28 grammes for RM2 and one kg of chilli at prices of between RM35 and RM40,” he said.
Sambal products
Besides selling fresh chilli, the surplus chilli is processed into various chilli pastes by his wife.
Among the home-made products are pure blended cili padi (bird’s eye chilli), salted fish chilli paste with petai as well as various other pastes that are being sought after by consumers and are marketed in Labuan district.
“So far they (chilli pastes) are high-demand products. What’s special about our sambal is that they are made of fresh chilli, flavourful and can last long,” he added, adding that a bottle of sambal is sold between RM12 and RM20 based on its type.
Following the overwhelming response, Hashim hopes to market fresh chilli as well as chilli pastes outside Labuan in the future.
“That is our cultivation for the first season, I’m now working on the second season with a capacity of 400 polybags,” he said.
Besides that, he also plans on growing mushrooms after learning of the crop’s potential.
“We have just set up a greenhouse for mushrooms but have yet to acquire several equipment and blocks for mushroom cultivation.
“Insya-Allah (God willing), I will start growing mushrooms after my visit to Selangor soon,” said Hashim, who is considering several types of mushrooms for planting.
Determination
Hashim said every sector has its own challenges and job satisfaction for the individual.
Having worked as a fisherman for many years, he said that success and personal growth are not handed to the individual on a silver platter – they are the result of hard work, relentless effort and determination.
For now, he has not fully left his job as a fisherman, but will go out to sea when favourable weather conditions prevail.
Due to the current uncertain weather patterns, he is now focused on his lada bara cultivation.
“When we talk about job satisfaction, it is clear that that through farming, we can see the results and quality right before our very eyes. On the contrary, as fishermen who go at dawn and brave the seas amid waves and strong winds and even the storms; we do not know what to expect, whether we can get a good catch or do not catch any fish from our trip,” he said.
For those who are faced with problems at the workplace, Hashim’s advice is for them to stay positive and be brave in exploring unchartered territories.
“What’s important is they should be equipped with the knowledge related to the fields they plan to venture,” he said adding that he is also thankful to FOA and MAIWP for making his cili bara cultivation a success. – BERNAMA
