News at Home
AgBiotech & Environment
The Government is optimistic that there would be a 13% growth in cocoa output in the country this year as better farming practices and increased hectarage of the cash crop is being promoted. The effort, aimed at rehabilitating smallholdings, will see RM83.75 million from the RM180.5 million allocated for cocoa development projects channeled for such purposes. Malaysia is currently Asia’s largest cocoa producer with outputs of 30,000 tonnes in 2006.
 
 
The great diversity of our natural heritage is one of our country’s most treasured resources, it is not surprising to stumble upon them in our daily lives. Hence it should be no wonder to anyone that a rare aquatic plant was found in the suburb of Kota Damansara recently. The water trumpter, or crypts, have previously only been commonly found in freshwater swamps. The discovery was made by Zoo Negara assistant curator Herman Bernard Ganapathy.
                 

A new species of the clouded leopard has been discovered in the isles of Borneo and Sumatra of late. In a statement by the WWF, researchers at the US National Cancer Institute has confirmed the differences between the Bornean and the mainland clouded leopard found, and has been estimated to have diverged from the mainland population some 1.4 million years ago. The DNA tests highlighted around 40 differences between the two species.
                 
Health & Medical
There is much hope abound for cancer sufferers this month, with the announcement of new cancer vaccines and vaccine tests within the country. A vaccine to prevent cervical, vulvar and vaginal cancers has been launched by the National Cancer Society recently. The vaccine, called Gardasil, is the first cancer vaccine to prevent cervical cancer a disease almost exclusively caused by the highly common sexually transmitted virus, Human Papillomavirus.
 
 

Similarly, clinical trials will begin for a vaccine developed by Cuban scientists which has been recorded to double the life expectancy of cancer patients. The vaccine, which has been tested in Cuba, Canada and Britain, has been touted to be able to treat 60% of all cancers including lung, breast, bladder, colorectal, head and neck, ovarian, pancreatic and prostate, and trials will be conducted by Bioven Sdn Bhd and the Clinical Research Center of Hospital Kuala Lumpur.

   
Investment & Industry
 
Leading food and agribusiness investor Rabobank is eyeing the development of Malaysia’s Northern Corridor Economic Region for active involvement in the project. Proposed under the 9th Malaysia Plan, the Northern Corridor covers agriculture in areas including Penang, Seberang Prai, North Perak, Kedah and Perlis. According to Rabobank’s food and agribusiness head of strategic advisory and research for Southeast Asia, Thomas Lee Bauer, the financier believes they can fit perfectly while playing a huge role in the project.
It has been estimated that 10 tonnes of vegetable and fruit wastes are being produced every day in the Selangor wholesale market in Seri Kembangan, and a Selangor State project would see such food waste being processed into compost fertilizer to be reused. The pilot project by state subsidiary PKPS Agro Industries Sdn Bhd will see the food waste being composed, in an initiative by the state government to recycle, reduce and reuse as much as possible to minimize wastage.
In other news, stem cell giant StemLife is gaining more ground financially as its share prices has increased six-fold since its initial public offer of 33 sen in October 2006. In fact, many major investors including Goldman-Sachs and Berjaya Corp Bhd founder Tan Sri Vincent Tan have invested substantially in the biotechnology shining star. As of March 22, 2007, StemLife shares traded at RM2.53.
                 
Policy
In the recent Terengganu State Assembly, companies which are state government-linked have been urged to help boost food production in the country by participating in agriculture. Only then would the sector, being the third largest contributor to the state economy, see a progressive shift into an even more productive sector, according to chairman of the advisory council of the Regent of Terengganu, Tengku Sri Panglima Tengku Baderulzaman.
Similarly, Kepala Batas is being set to be a hub for goat breeding, as the Penang Regional Development Authority begin their push for the town to be a R&D center for cross-bred goats. The move would see the government spending RM100 million to build the center, which would make Penang a hub for the production of cross-bred and Boer goats, within the next three years. A buy-back scheme is also being initiated, where all Boer goats in the programme would be bought back from the participants after six months.
    
 
On the other hand, the Malaysian Palm Oil Council is currently building its case for palm oil being a second generation biofuel by fine-tuning the processing technology. The biofuel is looked upon as a great approach to reducing carbon emissions by more than 80 percent as this would reduce the emissions produced from burning fossil fuels which are a potential environmental threat. By the end of the year, Malaysia will be looking at 500,000 tonnes capacity of production from 10 biodiesel plants across the country.