PASIR MAS: A total of 39 padi farmers from Kampung Luar and Kampung Tersang here have suffered losses of nearly RM1mil following the flooding of 121ha of ready-to-harvest padi fields with the arrival of the Northeast Monsoon.
The head of the Kampung Luar and Kampung Tersang Area Farmers' Organisation Unit, Azli Jaafar said that the padi was ready to be harvested as it was sown in early August.
He explained that the padi would begin to emit a sour smell if it was covered in mud and could not be harvested if submerged in water for more than three to four days consecutively.
"In my area, there are a total of 39 rice farmers, 31 from Kampung Luar, while eight are from Kampung Tersang, on average, they have padi crops of around 12ha to 20ha each.
"This problem occurred because we started the sowing process late following the first phase of the flood earlier this year which receded around February, causing us to have to start the process in March compared to the usual early January," he told reporters in Kampung Luar, Gual Periok, Rantau Panjang, on Tuesday (Nov 26).
Meanwhile, a rice farmer from Kampung Luar, Che Jailani Che Harun, 53, reported a loss of almost RM30,000 as the padi cultivated on about 4ha of land was damaged and could not be harvested.
"The loss includes ploughing costs of around RM380, land rental costs for a season of RM180 to RM200 depending on the area and RM58 for a bag of padi seeds. We as rice farmers have no other choice but to cultivate padi.
"Therefore, we hope that our plight will receive the attention of the relevant authorities, and this continuous rain is also expected to occur in several episodes, thus limiting us from starting planting again in the near future,” he said. – Bernama
