Constraining factors influencing the production of coconut among smallholders in Batu Pahat, Johor, Malaysia

• Published in: Food Research
• Main Author: Omar Z.; Saili A.R.; Abdul F.F.; Wan Noranida W.M.N.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Rynnye Lyan Resources 2023
• Online Access: https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85180414255&doi=10.26656%2ffr.2017.7%28S2%29.17&partnerID=40&md5=8652c2829bff78c321e59909774978e2

Malaysia is one of the top ten coconut-producing nations in the world, and coconut is the country's fourth-most significant industrial crop after oil palm, rice, and rubber. Coconut production is an important source of income and employment for over 100,000 households that rely entirely or partially on coconut, particularly among smallholders. The sector has given smallholder farmers the option to diversify their resources for coconut farming while also meeting local demand for fresh consumption and the coconut processing industry. Coconut smallholders were experiencing a productivity gap as a result of differences in agricultural techniques, socioeconomic situations, and economic factors such as demand and supply, which resulted in price volatility and varying profitability of coconut. The current study looked into topics such as socioeconomic status as well as factors and constraints that affected coconut production profitability and technical efficiency among smallholders in Batu Pahat, Johor, Malaysia. A random selection procedure was used to pick a sample of 152 smallholders. The Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) for exploratory factor analysis (EFA), was 0.716, indicating that all items were of excellent quality and reliability. A higher EFA score indicates that the government factor, followed by knowledge and agronomic methods, was the most important factor influencing smallholders' profitability and technical efficiency in their coconut production in Batu Pahat, Johor. The major constraints were a lack of expertise, the volatility of the coconut price, and a lack of technology. © 2023 The Authors. Published by Rynnye Lyan Resources.