Johor To Go Big Into Herbs Growing To Boost Bio-tech Industry

MUAR, Aug 5 (Bernama) -- Johor will rope in the 60,000 members of the state's Farmers Organisation to grow herbs and help develop the bio-technology industry in a big way, Menteri Besar Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman said.
He said the farmers did not need to take up herb cultivation on a big scale.
"We will get the organisation to sign up its members to do contract farming of herbs like 'misai kucing', 'tongkat ali' and 'kacip fatimah', and they can start small," he said after launching an anti-drug campaign in Mukim Kesang here Friday.
Abdul Ghani also said a validation laboratory to scientifically authenticate the health properties of herbs would be established in Universiti Teknologi Malaysia in Skudai.
He said the federal government had approved an allocation of RM35 million for it.
The laboratory would form part of a RM50 million centre to process herbs located on the university campus.
"Now we hear a lot about the health properties of misai kucing, tongkat ali, kacip fatimah and other herbs but they have not been verified scientifically," he said.