Instagram-worthy: Visitors taking photos at the padi straw sculpture exhibition during the Penang International Padi Festival at Kampung Terus in Penanti, Penang. — ZHAFARAN NASIB/The Star
Penang hopes to get its three-day padi festival, which draws thousands of visitors annually, on the national tourism calendar
IT IS public consensus that efforts should be made to recognise Penang International Padi Festival (PIPF) as a national tourism event and that it be included in Malaysia’s tourism calendar.
The annual event at Kampung Terus in Penanti, Permatang Pauh, has the potential to drive tourists to Penang, say stakeholders.
Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said the fourth edition this year – held from July 22 to 24 – received overwhelming support from the public.
“Thousands of people, including locals and international tourists, thronged the three-day festival.
“I remember thousands of visitors flocking to the festival in 2018 and 2019 too.
“This shows that PIPF has its own uniqueness and potential to be recognised as a national event, turning its venue into a must-visit cultural and heritage place.
“It can make Kampung Terus a popular ecotourism destination,” he said at the festival’s closing ceremony.
(From right) Aniq and team members Aminul Hosaini Mohd Zaker, 23, Zal Hazmi Norsabaruddin, 28, Nurfarahib Roslan, 28, and Shararath Bunjarat, 27, with their trophy, certificate and ‘Life Theory’ sculpture. — Photos: ZHAFARAN NASIB/The Star
He also suggested that the festival’s padi straw sculpture competition be promoted to attract more participation from international artists and promote Penang as an art hub.
“Kampung Terus has the potential to be used as a sculpture art stage for university students, artists, landscape architects and professional designers from around Malaysia.
“The state government will continue to support this kind of festival as it is related to the history, culture and heritage of padi farmers, who are important for the preservation of the country’s identity,” said Chow.
Penang agrotech and food security, rural development and health committee chairman Dr Norlela Ariffin, who is also Penanti assemblyman, said the festival was a celebration of rich cultural heritage and nature.
She said the site chosen was one of the oldest padi heritage sites in Seberang Prai, dating back to the 1800s.
“Several activities, such as the padi straw sculpture competition, photography competition, food bazaar, traditional games, arts and crafts, padi exhibition and river cruise, were carried out during the festival.
“The objectives were to preserve and promote the 410ha heritage padi fields in Kampung Terus, support local farmers as they play a pivotal role in food security and develop the place as a tourist attraction.
“One of the unique elements of this year’s PIPF was that it featured at least 17 padi sculptures of interesting shapes and various sizes such as a buffalo and a scarecrow. “They were made from discarded rice straws and fully handcrafted by Kampung Terus villagers.
“I would like to thank the Kampung Terus villagers and the festival’s organising committee, who gave it their best to make this festival a success,” Norlela said at the event.
Rice facts
At the festival, visitors learned what padi farmers had to go through to produce good quality rice.
The visitors experienced the entire process first-hand – from the time the seedlings were planted to when the padi was harvested and reached customers as rice.
Teacher Zarina Zainon, 50, from Kepala Batas, was one of the many who visited the festival over the weekend.
“My friend Zanawati Ilias, 40, who is also a teacher, drove from Sungai Petani in Kedah, which is about a one-and-a-half-hour drive, so that we could visit the festival together.
“We were excited and we definitely gained a lot of knowledge here about padi.
“I am proud that my state recorded the highest average padi yield in the country over the past two years.
“I will share with my students the knowledge I have gained from this festival,” she said, adding that there were many who did not know how rice was produced.
Zarina also said that the festival brought back nostalgic memories.
Ng: It took about six months to conceptualise the festival on top of physical groundwork.
“There were many activities for visitors to try, such as horse riding on the padi field, catching fish in a pond and riding bullock carts.
“I was particularly amazed by the sculptures made using padi straws.
“My friend and I were so excited and took many pictures,” she said.
For project planner Nasriah Samsudin, 29, the scorching heat did not stop her from bringing her one-year-old son to the festival.
“I work in Bukit Beruntung, Selangor, but am home in Kepala Batas for the weekend.
“I am here at the festival with my sister and brother-in-law, who told me about the event.
“Since we are staying in nearby Kepala Batas, we decided to check it out.
“Through this festival, I get to experience my hometown differently.
“This is also the first time I am bringing my son to such a big-scale event and he seems to be enjoying himself,” she said.
Farming challenges
Farmers at the festival shared their experiences and challenges.
Among them was Baharuddin Abdullah, 49, who said most farmers took up other jobs to make ends meet.
Baharuddin, who is also Kampung Terus Village Community Management Council (MPKK) chairman, said he had been helping his parents in the padi fields since young.
“Lately, the price of pesticide has increased by 100% and it is a burden on farmers.
“The latest harvest for some of us has dropped by 30% to 40% because of a new virus in the rice seed.
“Samples have been sent to the lab for testing, and we are told not to use drones as it may spread the virus to other padi fields.
Baharuddin hopes the state can build and upgrade infrastructure to promote Penang mainland as a green tourism destination.
“At the moment, the only way to control it is by spraying the treatment manually.
“The virus attacked one month before the harvest season.
“We hope that this issue can be resolved quickly,” he added.
Baharuddin said there were two harvest seasons in a year.
“This year, we started planting before the fasting month in April and got our first harvest in July.
“We will be planting again at the end of September and most likely harvest by December.
“We can usually harvest between 3.2 and 3.5 tonnes of padi from 0.4ha of land, and the most is above four tonnes,” he explained.
He is hoping that the state government will build and upgrade the infrastructure to promote Penang mainland as a green tourism destination.
“We hope that more allocation will be given to upgrade basic infrastructure such as public toilets, alternative access roads and parking spots,” Baharuddin added.
Mohamad Ridzuan Abu Bakar, 43, a fifth-generation padi farmer, said weather and water supply played an important role in ensuring good quality produce.
Mohamad Ridzuan says weather and water supply play an important role in ensuring good quality produce.
“We usually start planting when the Drainage and Irrigation Department lets us know the prime time to do so and gives us water after studying the weather pattern.
“We use our tractors to create waterways before levelling the ground within the first two weeks.
“Then, we will let water in and put pesticide before soaking the seedlings for one day and one night.
“To sow the seeds, we have two choices, either by drone or manpower.
“A week after that, we start putting weed poison every day for two weeks.
“Then, we will put in the first round of fertilisers and vitamins,” he elaborated, adding that at week 35, fertilisers were put in for the second time and during weeks 45 to 50, a third time.
“The padi will start growing in week 65 and it is very crucial that there is no heavy rain during this period.
“It usually takes between 105 and 110 days to harvest,” said Mohamad Ridzuan.
He explained that from the first day to 30, rain was important to ensure that there was sufficient water for pesticides and vitamins.
“The weather must not be too wet between day 60 and 70, or the flowers will drop before bearing fruit.
“If the weather is too dry for a month, the seedling will not grow to its full size and if it rains too much, the flowers will not grow into fruits.
“It is important that the conditions are just right, in order to produce good quality rice,” he said.
Festival groundwork
Meanwhile, the festival’s key organising committee member, Amos Ng, who is also Seberang Prai Professional Entrepreneur Club president, said it took the organisers about six months to conceptualise the festival on top of physical groundwork.
“One of the festival’s highlights is the padi straw sculpture competition, which attracted 17 teams.
“The participants spent two weeks completing their designs, ranging from buildings to animals and abstract structures.
“The sculptures, each showing their creators’ creativity as well as elements of padi and farming, attracted a crowd.
“It is the first time such a competition has been organised in the country and I am proud of the university students, artists and architects from all over Malaysia who transformed padi straw into art masterpieces,” said Ng.
The Penang Chief Minister Award for the padi straw sculpture competition went to Archatect USM.
Visitors trying their hand at traditional rice planting
Its team leader Aniq Ammar Abd Rahim said the process took about two weeks – from conceptualising the design to completing the sculpture.
“The sculpture features two rings and on top of them is a pair of hands reaching out to each other.
“The left hand resembles a farmer’s hand, it is constructed from the ground and surrounded with hay flowers symbolising the beginning of a farmer’s life.
“The small ring supporting the left hand indirectly defines the village community which contributes to padi production throughout the state.
“The right hand in this sculpture, which looks like it’s floating, depicts the government agencies that assist farmers by providing a range of amenities,” said Aniq, who is a final-year Masters of Architecture student at Universiti Sains Malaysia.
The 28-year-old further said, “Another notable feature of the right hand is a huge ring that encompasses the entirety of Malaysia.
“There are several meeting points in all four components of the hand and loop, to illustrate the robust and intact cooperation between the farmers and the government.”
Aniq’s team comprised students in various academic disciplines including Landscape Architecture and Engineering Technology.
