Move to irrigate dried-up padi fields in Kota Belud

KOTA KINABALU: Efforts are being made to irrigate padi fields that have dried up or drying up in Kota Belud, the state’s main rice-producing district, following the current month-long drought.

Kota Belud Integrated Agriculture Development Area director Salmah Labulla said her agency and others, including the Drainage and Irriga­tion Department and Department of Agriculture and Farmers’ Organi­sation Authority, had brought in mobile water pumps.

She said that the three main areas that were badly affected by the dry spell were Botung 1 and 2, Skim Tempasuk Selatan and Kesapang, which covers a total area of 1,148.37ha.

“It is supposed to be the season for padi farmers to start planting but work has to be postponed due to the situation.

“We are focusing on providing water sources for areas that have started planting prior to the dry spell to prevent the crops from drying out,” she said yesterday.

Salmah said that for dried-out padi fields, rehabilitation would be carried out soon.

She explained that padi planting up to the harvesting took about three to four months every cycle.

“After harvesting, the fields will be left to rest before farmers prepare for the next planting season,” she added.

Each hectare in Kota Belud can yield an average of 3.5 tonnes to six tonnes of padi.

Some areas can even produce up to 10 tonnes of padi per hectare under superb weather and irrigation conditions.

Bernama reported that five areas in Sabah recorded moderate Air Pollutant Index (API) readings yesterday, with the highest reading of 75 recorded in Kimanis at 11am.

According to the Department of Environment (DOE) website, apart from Kimanis, other areas with moderate API readings are Kota Kinabalu (70), Keningau (53) and Sandakan (52) while Labuan has a reading of 53.

In Tawau, the air quality was good with an API reading of 34.