Help us please, we are operating at a loss, say padi farmers

KEPALA BATAS: Every day at dusk, padi farmers watch helplessly as hundreds of ricefield rats plunder their fields.

Small dark silhouettes hop from padi stalk to padi stalk. They cleverly avoid poisoned bait and traps, and the farmers’ only hope are common barn owls, the natural predators of the rodents.

The rats have been pillaging since 29ha in Paya Keladi were planted in April and farmers now estimate that they have lost half their crop, or an estimated RM500,000 in revenue in one season.

Besides providing rice to the district, the farmers also send a regular supply to Padiberas Nasional Bhd (Bernas).

It began with the horrendous flooding last November. When the water subsided, padi farmer Suhaidi Hashim, 41, said farmers noticed more rats scurrying around in their fields.

He said the floods must have driven more of the rats from upriver down into the fields.

“Help us. We are farming at a loss. When our young padi plants started to flourish, the rats gave them no chance to grow.

“From the 40 tonnes I produce every season, I estimate getting only about 20 tonnes this harvest.”