Table 2 The differences between agriculture farming system in Cameron Highlands (Tiraieyari et al. 2014; Radam et al. 2015)
GAP farming system | Characteristics | Conventional farming system |
|---|---|---|
Large (> 10 ha) | Area of farm | Small (< 5 ha) |
Big-scale production for domestic and international market  Better marker access  Priority as supplier in the local hypermarkets | Production scale | Small-scale only for domestic market |
High  Maintenance cost (e.g., plastic rain shelter  New technologies, infrastructure and facilities  Fertilizers cost | Production cost | Low |
Relatively high (only due to large farm area) | Labor cost | High |
Low (use natural water supply from upper catchment) | Irrigation cost | Low (use natural water supply from upper catchment) |
High | Yield per plant (kg) | Low |
High (due to its better appearance, size and quality)  E.g., tomato (USD 2.00) | Market price | Low  E.g., tomato (USD 1.00) |
Longer (cultivates are grown in a protected environment) | Crop production cycle | Shorter (cultivates directly exposed to external factor such as wind, pest, rain, etc.) |
 Plastic rain shelter  Fertigation  Hydroponics | Practices |  Open-field farming |