Once a clear winner, popular padi strain now a loser

PETALING JAYA: Clearfield was a popular strain when it was introduced seven years ago.

Its efficacy and high yields – up to nine tonnes per hectare – made it a much sought-after variation.

But its popularity wavered when farmers noticed its resistance to herbicide.

Jitra-based Muhamad Rafirdaus Abu Bakar said that two years after it was introduced, farmers found that herbicide used to eliminate weedy rice was no longer effective.

“We found the weedy rice had become ‘kebal’ (invulnerable) and the yield was starting to decrease,” he said.

From nine tonnes per hectare, the yield dropped to six.

“The weedy rice competed with Clearfield for water and fertilisers in the padi field. It then dominated the growing space.”

Muhamad Rafirdaus, who owned a hectare of padi field and rented another 13ha due to the lucrative output, found himself caught in a bind after he was unable to earn enough profit to pay the land lease, fertiliser and weedkiller to sustain the bigger field.

“Never mind a decent wage. When you average the profits across one season, it’s only about RM600 to RM700 a month,” he said.

And he said he was not alone. His friend operating under the Muda Agricultural Development Authority (Mada) in Kedah also faced a similar predicament.

Sekinchan Farm Operators Unit’s chairman Sam Fai said Sabak Bernam and Sekinchan, traditionally known as the more productive rice-growing areas in the country, were also not spared.

“The padi output from these two areas dropped from nine tonnes a hectare to five.”

Farmers, he said, were unable to get back their operating cost.

Fai said many of them were contemplating switching to more profitable crops such as oil palm.