As the planet heats up, Malaysia needs to look beyond rice for food security

This is a photo of a padi field in Pagoh, Johor, taken in 2020 during a dry spell. Malaysia’s rice production has been impacted by climate change with more than 40,000ha of paid fields destroyed by floods and 9,000ha by drought between 2017 and 2021. An estimated 63,000ha have been exposed to frequent episodes of dry spells, out of a total of 350,000ha of padi fields. -- Filepic/The Star

A few weeks ago, Agriculture and Food Industries Minister Dr Ronald Kiandee said in an interview that Malaysia’s production of rice has been adversely impacted by climate change.

In particular, we’re getting a bit too much rain and a bit too much sun. Between 2017 and 2021, more than 40,000ha of paid fields were destroyed by floodwaters, while roughly another 9,000ha were damaged due to drought. An estimated 63,000ha have been exposed to frequent episodes of dry spells, out of a total of 350,000ha of padi fields.