Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin today launched the Trolak Herbal Valley in Sungkai near here.

The first phase of the planting involves five land schemes in the Trolak zone, namely Trolak Utara, Trolak Selatan, Trolak Timur, Sungai Klah and Sungai Behrang, covering 59.24 hectares.

The launch was held in conjunction with the national-level 2020 Felda Settlers Day at the Felda Mara Junior Science College (MRSM), the Tun Abdul Razak Campus in Trolak, Sungkai today.

Also present were Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Khairy Jamaluddin Abu Bakar; Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Economy) Arthur Joseph Kurup; Felda chairman Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh; Perak Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Ahmad Faizal Azumu and National Felda Settlers chief Sulong Jamil Mohamed Shariff

Earlier, in his speech during the launch of the 2020 Felda Settlers Day, Muhyiddin said the Herbal Valley which was part of the Settler Development Programme would be implemented in five schemes in the Felda Trolak Region.

"The market is ready and two companies have also been identified," he said.

Meanwhile, Felda Trolak Region Settlers and Community Development Department, Entrepreneur Section officer, Mohd Izwan Hafiz Mohd Arshad said the idea to establish the Trolak Herbal Valley came after seeing a variety of herbs including agarwood, belalai gajah (sabah snake grass) and misai kucing, which have great potential to be commercialised being planted in the Trolak zone.

He said for the first phase of planting, 250 families from five schemes in the Trolak zone had been selected to take part in the smart fertigation under the Trolak Region Herbal Valley programme.

One of the participants Muhd Hamiz Juremi who has been planting sacha inchi seeds since 2018 said the plant can be used to produce omega oil that is beneficial to the heart, as well as other products such as soap and tea.

"Producing products from the sacha inchi seeds can help us to generate more income," said Muhd Hamiz who has now planted 500 sacha inchi trees on two acres of land.

-- BERNAMA