The GOAT of goat farmers

Compiled by BENJAMIN LEE, C.ARUNO and R.ARAVINTAN

A FARMER in Kelantan has been braving floodwaters for 1km just to feed his goats, according to Sinar Harian.

Mohd Faizul Che La, 33, had been wading through the waters twice a day to tend to his goats after he was forced to relocate to the temporary evacuation centre at SK Sri Kiambang in Kampung Serongga, Pasir Mas.

“This visit is to ensure the animals are fed and are healthy despite the unpredictable weather,” said Mohd Faizul.

He said that the area around his livestock’s pen has been submerged in more than one-metre deep floodwaters since last week.

He added that learning from experience, he decided to construct the pen on higher ground after his village faced flooding several years ago.

> Once called crazy for buying up to 20,000 cassava seedlings, a youth from Kuala Besut is now enjoying the fruits of his labour after selling as much as 60 tonnes of the crop within two weeks.

According to a report by Sinar Harian, 30-year-old Muhamad Azizan Mat Zin has been planting cassava, or tapioca, in an 8ha piece of land in Terengganu since 2020.

Muhamad Azizan and his cousin Mohd Taufik Abd Rahim 29, managed the plantation and sold the cassava produce at a stall in their village in Kampung Amir in Kuala Besut.

“With the average daily wholesale of four tonnes, the harvest seems significant. But, after selling out, we have to wait six months for the newly-planted cassava to mature and be ready for harvesting,” he said.

The father of one said he began cultivating cassava three years ago and it was sold at a retail price of RM3 per kg and RM1.50 per kg (wholesale).

“I never expected cassava to have such high demand that we sold RM6,000 worth on the first day, three weeks ago,” he said.

According to Muhamad Azizan, he once bought a trailer containing 20,000 cassava seedlings.

At first, many doubted his decision to engage in large-scale cassava cultivation.

“My friends said I was crazy but I ignored them and was determined to prove that I could achieve my goal,” he said.

The above articles are compiled from the vernacular newspapers (Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese and Tamil dailies). As such, stories are grouped according to the respective language/medium. Where a paragraph begins with a >, it denotes a separate news item.