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‘Horticulture’ is a word that is little hyped compared to words like  ‘madani’, ‘bantuan’, ‘dedak’, ‘pot holes’ or even ‘kangkung’.  This means the latter five words, among a long list within the same group, are much better understood by the rakyat whereas ‘horticulture’ is a word that has been considered by many to be more academic and alien.

However, this does not reduce its importance in everyday lives such as in environment, beautification, ecology and various farming activities and cultivation practices.  Most important of all is its link to a supply chain that helps to put food on the table.

The truth of the matter is that Sabahans were already practicing horticulture since ages ago mainly out of need rather than ego or academics.  

In the old days of generations ago when rules and regulations were less strict or even non-existent, people were free to cultivate anything with the main objective of harvesting edibles to fill family stomachs.  

There was backyard and front yard gardening or farming, and even cultivation of any open and accessible land was carried out without charges of encroachment.  

Shifting cultivation then was practiced in many rural locations to benefit from soil virginity and fertility, but the practice today has been stopped in many areas. 

There are several divisions in horticulture all of which are intricately linked to varying degrees with human livelihood.

The most widely seen is pomiculture or pomology which is all about the cultivation, production and supply of fruits from trees and shrubs, herbaceous plants and succulent climbers.  

Next is vegetable cultivation or olericulture which includes processing, storage, distribution and marketing of produce from such a culture.

Agrostology is another discipline within horticulture whose significance must not be underestimated.  It is the science of the study of grasses that are essential for agriculture, fodder for animal husbandry, environmental conservation and landscape beautification and enhancement.  

As agrostology is about grasses, it is also sometimes known as graminology. This covers a whole range of plants including corn, rice, oats, barley, wheat, sugarcane, lallang, bamboo, ornamental grasses, etc.  From this short list, it is clear that many of these supply the needed food grains to sustain the food chains that are necessary for not only humans but also many species of animals.  

As for lallang, don’t write it off yet.  Its roots are used in many traditional Chinese medicinal formulae.  

When washed and cleaned, they can be chewed and swallowed to fill the stomach with fibre and sugar. The taste is not bad as it is cool and fairly sweet.  

Even the leaves especially the young tender ones, may also be chewed and gorged in. This helps to balance the diet of consumers who are meat lovers.

Floriculture is another field that is closely associated with horticulture. The short ‘flori’ says it all, as it is all about the cultivation and production of flowers to meet landscape needs and cut-flower industry.

In its broadest definition, horticulture also covers nursery and seed production, landscaping as well as processing and storage of produce derived from the various disciplines. 

Nowadays, urban farming is quite widely carried out especially with regard to back and front yard farming.  

These are also often called kitchen gardening or farming as they cater mainly to the needs of the immediate family, with surpluses that can be bartered with neighbours for chicken or duck.

Therein lies the potential to make quick bucks from kitchen gardening.  As a crop of vegetables takes about 60-70 days to mature, it is therefore possible to rake in about RM1,500 per year from the front and backyards.  

This sum may be doubled or tripled if the surrounding abandoned or neglected lands are converted into vegetable plots instead of lallang or belukar.  

As such, raking in about RM12,000 per year per family is not too farfetched. 

Imagine if the folks have proper guidance and other inputs from the brilliant officers of the Agricultural Department, the family income may reached mindboggling levels, all within a year, and they will be waltzing all the way to the bank. As such, it is not too much for the officers to be recognised and rewarded with a SPDK, or at least a PGDK.

Using tools such as horticulture to enrich the struggling and lower income Sabahans is an admirable deed.  

There is no need for any back-breaking or sweaty tasks.  In fact, it is good for mind, body and pockets.  In this respect, some of the beneficial tasks may include fruit, vegetable and flower picking. These harvests may be delivered to outlets in the city or sold directly in roadside stalls. Or they may be hauled to Gaya Street Fair to fetch better prices. Better still, they may be delivered to nearby agricultural produce collection centres, provided they do accept perishables.

Horticulture may also be used to teach newbies the process of composting and producing composts for own use or for sale.  

The art of earthing-up and soil replenishment may also be shown to keen gardening enthusiasts to show them the method to induce better growth and more beautiful plants.  

The various techniques of vegetative plant propagation may also be imparted to keen learners for them to leverage on the new skills to make more money.

These are some of the skills that may help gardening enthusiasts in their urban or kitchen farming enterprises which may lift them to the next higher step of the economic ladder.  

Perhaps short courses on these subjects may be conducted to enlighten interested young minds on the process of economic improvement.  

This uplifting process brings to mind a news report in mid March 2026 that told of Sabah as having the highest number of poor people, which, in effect, means the conditions are ripe for concerted efforts that leverage on horticulture to help eradicate poverty in the state.

Come on, folks!

The above writer may be reached at: onggrow@yahoo.com