Ban on swiftlet farming in town areas too premature

Monday April 26, 2010
The Star
RUBEN SARIO
sario@thestar.com.my



FOR years, a group of entrepreneurs in Sabah have been raking in the “big bucks” by harvesting swiftlet nests from all sorts of buildings, some purposely built while others using abandoned or disused structures such as shophouses.

Among those who jumped on the swiftlet farming bandwagon was former state assistant minister Datuk Karim Bujang, who built a concrete structure in his native Kampung Gadong in Papar district, some 29km from the city.

Asked whether swiftlet farming could be equated with swift cash, the Bongawan assemblyman answered without hesitation: “Yes.”

The numbers in the minds of many Sabah swiftlet farmers remember is this; the start-up cost for the business is in the region of RM200,000.

Once they are able to attract the swiftlets to nest in their structures, 150 pairs of birds can produce up to 1kg of nests.

And it is possible for farmers to harvest up to 10kg of nests every three months, earning them about RM50,000.

But some swiftlet farmers here suddenly found their wings clipped early this month when state Resource Development and Information Technology Minister Datuk Dr Yee Moh Chai announced the state Cabinet’s decision to ban swiftlet farming in all town areas.

Dr Yee said the ban came in the wake of concerns about the potential health and environmental problems caused by bird’s nest farming, apart from being a public nuisance.

He said the Sabah Government was encouraging bird’s nest farming but this should be done in areas with low population density.

That announcement caught swiftlet farmers offguard and a grouping representing them questioned the need as cities such as a Johor Baru and Ipoh had no such ban.

Sabah Swiftlet House and Bird’s Nest Industry president George Ng also wondered why the state decided to place a ban as the industry was still awaiting the Federal Government’s guidelines on swiftlet farming practices.

The ban has also caused confusion for some as the state’s announcement is not clear on whether the move covered just the populated areas or entire rating areas of a city or municipality. Worries about the impact of the swiftlet farming ban spilled over at the just-concluded sitting of the Sabah state assembly.

Among those who spoke up about the issue was Kiulu assemblyman Datuk Louis Rampas who said the ban could dampen entrepreneurial spirit among the people.

He said the government should not impose severe restrictions on the industry in the absence of any guidelines for it as yet.

Dr Yee and some of his state Cabinet colleagues then tried to assuage the concerns and criticisms raised following the announcement of the ban.

“We are encouraging swiftlet farming but it should be conducted in a proper manner, and this means no such activities in the city or town area.

“Swiftlet farming must be done in an area where it does not affect many people. Bear in mind this sort of activity is noisy and birds are known vectors of diseases,” he said.

Dr Yee’s Local Government and Housing counterpart Datuk Hajiji Mohd Noor said that the guidelines would be drawn up with the Sabah Wildlife Department to put in place a systematic development of the lucrative bird’s nest industry.

Back at the Sabah state assembly, Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Yahya Hussin said swiftleft farming was a way for the poor to escape the poverty trap and that was why the government was encouraging the development of the industry.

Despite these assurances, some Sabahans cannot help but wonder whether the state is too premature in announcing the ban when the national policy on swiftlet farming has yet to be finalised. And they can’t help shake off the feeling that the state is putting the proverbial cart before the horse.