No rain a pain for padi farmers

Cause for concern: A filepic showing one of the padi fields in Kampung Charok Kering, Pendang. Parts of Kedah have not seen rain since late December. — ZHAFARAN NASIB/The Star

PETALING JAYA: Padi farmers are getting hot and bothered in anticipation of prolonged drier and warmer weather expected up north of the peninsula due to the effects of an ongoing El Nino.

Already, parts of Kedah, which accounts for about 40% of Malaysia’s total rice production and is known as the country’s rice bowl, have not seen rain since late December.