ALOR STAR – Flash floods that hit the northern region of the peninsula have affected padi production, with Kedah being the worst hit as 400,00 tonnes of padi was estimated to have perished in the disaster, said a farmer organisation.
Pertubuhan Persaudaraan Pesawah Malaysia (Pesawah) chairman Abdul Rashid Yob told Scoop that it is estimated that around 8,000ha of padi fields were affected by the floods.
From this, 5,000ha are in the Muda Agricultural Development Authority (Mada) area in Kedah and the remaining 3,000 ha are those located outside the zone, including in Perlis.
Rashid said that the total amount of losses incurred by flood-hit padi farmers is yet to be determined when contacted by Scoop. However, they have an estimate.
“In terms of loss of produce, we produce 5 tonnes on average per hectare. If we use that average, (it is estimated) that around 400,000 tonnes (of padi produce) that were ruined due to the floods for the past three days,” he said.
Rashid also lamented that the flood-hit padi farmers in Kedah have to bear massive losses as 60%, or 72,000 out of 120,000ha padi fields, are yet to be harvested, and that the flood happened when the harvest season is around the corner.
Speed up aid distribution to farmers
The association also expressed its concern that the country’s self-sufficient level for rice might have taken a heavy hit from the floods in the state.
Therefore, Rashid urged the government to speed up the process of channelling monetary aid to the affected padi farmers so that they could grow new batches of crops.
He explained that financial aid is sorely needed by padi farmers given the high expenses they have to bear to plant padi crops, as they need to buy padi seeds, pesticides, and plough the fields, with RM4,000 to RM5,000 needed per hectare.
With the crops destroyed in the floods, they have lost the income needed to cover their expenses for further rounds of padi growing.
Rashid also said that while Agro Bank has just launched the padi plantation takaful insurance scheme for the farmers in the ongoing Malaysian Agriculture, Horticulture, and Agrotourism (Maha) Exhibition 2024, applications could not be done immediately as the scheme is still new.
Therefore, the farmers have to rely on financial aid from the government.
“Agencies such as Mada and the Agriculture Department have done their survey (on the number of farmers affected), so we want the government to speed up the aid payment.
“We don’t want farmers to wait from six months up to a year for them to get the aid, right? (After all), we need to help them, so (we need them to) have the capital needed to carry out another round (of padi growing) for the next season,” he added.
Several districts in Kedah – Kota Setar, Kubang Pasu, Pokok Sena, Pendang, Kulim and Kuala Muda – were hit by flash floods following heavy downpours that lasted for days this week.
According to Bernama, the number of flood evacuees in Kedah is 7,494 people as of 8am yesterday, up from 6,760 people at 8pm on Friday.
Kota Setar district recorded the highest number of victims with 3,292 people, followed by Kubang Pasu (1,811), Pendang (1,127), Pokok Sena (952), Kuala Muda (184) and Bandar Baharu with 128 people. – September 22, 2024