About 2 hours drive from Kota Kinabalu, you can find a small town of Kundasang. Mother Nature had blessed this place with fertile soil so you can find fresh vegetables, fruits, honey and other agriculture products. You should try the wild Durian. It tastes a bit bitter than the normal Durian but with slight sweetness in between.

Close proximity with Kinabalu Mountain means that the temperature is low throughout the year; better than Cameron Highlands. However, unlike Cameron Highlands, the vast amount of available lands to grow vegetables means Kundasang can produce more vegetables. I was told that Kundasang ‘exported’ their product to Kota Kinabalu.

One thing that I notice is that the same ‘kiosk’ still selling the fruits when I came here 4 years ago. I just been thinking aloud, what happened (or not happen) for the past 4 years? Well, I am not expecting a quantum leap in these traders economic standing, but at least there should be some improvement. If there are changes in economic activities at this place, it is either it is not visible to me or there is an inequality in wealth distribution.

This is what baffles me; this place has the entire ingredient to be a great place; fertile soil, cool climate, access road and vast amount of lands, just to say a few. This place has the potential to be developed as the main producers of fruits and vegetable, and not just for Kota Kinabalu market. More importantly, the agriculture industry can elevate the economic status of the farmers/traders.

Perhaps the local government should play more active roles in developing and give access to the local farmers in better agriculture technique. Build up the supply chain from the farmers’ land right to the end users.

Noteworthy, to ensure sustainable development, the agriculture activities need to bear in mind the harm to the environment. We should not repeat the past mistake of using pesticides and uncontrolled land clearing.

The introduction of development corridor in Sabah should take the above into account. It is a pity if we ignore the future of these farmers/traders as well as the environment from the previously announced economic corridor.