Plantation agriculture some factors impinging on the future of the industry

Abstract

Agriculture has played a pivotal role in the history of economic development in Malaysia. This is best reflected by the significant contribution it makes to the nation's gross domestic product at present more than one-fifth of the total. Although this proportion has declined over the last decade, largely because of the rapid expansion in the manufacturing sector, the contribution of agriculture in absolute terms has grown steadily to $5.8 billion in 1980. Its importance becomes more manifest if one considers the fact that it is currently the source of more than one-third of total foreign exchange earnings and about two-fifth of total employment.