A study by Khazanah Research Institute says an 80% drop in labour would lead to a system collapse.
The study, titled “The Implications of the Dominant Shift to Industrial Crops in Malaysia: System Dynamic Model of Industrial Crops”, aims at identifying the key policy interventions towards revitalisation of the agricultural sector using a system dynamics modelling tool. To reduce the dependence on land, it said, there was a need for the industry to improve yield, expedite replanting and reduce non-labour input cost to increase production and revenue.
The study also found that development support for smallholders would yield higher impact to them, particularly on their return per ha compared with the estates.