Impac reduces dependency on foreign labour

TELUK INTAN: The Institute of Malaysian Plantation and Commodities (Impac) has provided training to more than 46,000 locals to reduce dependency on foreign workers in the commodities sector.
Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Datuk Seri Mah Siew Keong (pix) said since its introduction in 2011 until last year, about 75%of trainees had been employed in the plantation sector, particularly in management.
He said an allocation of RM1 million was provided to Impac each year to encourage the use of mechanisation as well as train local youths to operate farm machinery.
"Currently, 300,000 out of 393,000 workers in the palm oil sector are foreigners, the majority of whom are Indonesians.
"We hope that through the training at Impac, farm management through the use of machinery that is proven able to increase productivity and reduce labour usage by up to 40% (can be implemented) rather than the manual way," he said.
He said this after the closing ceremony of the fifth seminar on the need for skills training for empowering human capital in the palm oil sector, attended by some 200 participants here, today.
Mah said that the use of machinery and technology could also change the negative perception of working on farms from 3D – dirty, difficult, dangerous – to 3S, namely secured, skilled and sustainable. — Bernama