Farmer finds success in papaya, banana cultivation

Sinar Daily

09-08-2025

This 24-year-old farmer's son started by helping his father grow vegetables, gaining experience and learning the basics of agriculture along the way.
09 Aug 2025 04:01pm
Entrepreneur Muhammad Qayyum Zunkurnain, 24, inspects papayas before harvesting them at his farm in Manong recently. - Bernama photo
KUALA KANGSAR - While his peers chose salaried jobs or pursued higher education, Muhammad Qayyum Zunkurnain opted for a hoe and hard work, cultivating papayas and bananas on eight acres of land and earning a lucrative income.
This 24-year-old farmer's son started by helping his father grow vegetables, gaining experience and learning the basics of agriculture along the way. Harvested papayas belonging to entrepreneur Muhammad Qayyum Zunkurnain ready to be marketed around Perak, seen at his farm in Manong recently. - Bernama photo
"I learned about agriculture from my father while helping him grow vegetables. After that, I started a small business selling papayas and bananas once I finished school (completed Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia exam).
"But as I continued the business, I realised I couldn't get enough supply to keep up with the high demand. So I decided to grow my own papayas and bananas to meet the needs of my customers,' he told Bernama.
Muhammad Qayyum said he embarked on his venture with a small amount of capital, starting with 1,000 papaya and banana plants. Today, his farm has 3,000 papaya trees and 4,000 banana plants, which provide him with a monthly revenue of up to RM13,000.
He said he chose to grow papayas because they are in high demand among Malaysians, particularly older people, due to their digestive health benefits. Papayas also serve as an interim crop while waiting for the bananas to mature.
He added that papaya cultivation is not particularly difficult in Malaysia, which has only two main seasons - wet and dry. He said during prolonged rainy seasons, the trees flower easily and the planting process does not take long.
"At first, I failed after planting 1,000 papaya trees. But I tried again and thank God, it worked. Then, demand started increasing. Even now, the fruits from my farm are only for local consumption… there's still not enough to meet demand.
"In fact, the recent hot weather affected fruit production and led to a shortage in our locality. Papayas bear fruit quickly… within six to seven months, you can already start harvesting and the trees continue producing for a long period,' said Muhammad Qayyum, who is now married.
His produce is currently marketed to Perak, Penang and Selangor, where it is sold at farmers' markets to meet the daily needs of consumers and small fruit traders.
Muhammad Qayyum also said some people used to look down on his profession, especially in the beginning, but after seeing his impressive returns, several young people have approached him to work on his farm and learn how to cultivate papayas and bananas.
He added that in running his venture, he has also received a lot of support from the Senggang and Manong Area Farmers Organisation, Perak Department of Agriculture and the Director-General of the Federal Agricultural Marketing Authority (FAMA).
"I'm also aiming to eventually produce downstream products, but for now, my farm isn't big enough. To develop a product line, I would need more than 10,000 trees, but I'm working toward that goal,' he said. - BERNAMA
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