PAKA: “The water rose so quickly, unlike anything I have seen before,” said farmer Mohd Noor Besar, who suffered losses of more than RM20,000 when his maize and okra crops were destroyed in the recent floods.
The 50-year-old farmer, who has worked the land for 15 years, was frustrated that the maize crop he had planted in early October couldn’t be harvested due to the floods, causing estimated losses of more than RM8,000.
“This maize crop should have been ready for harvest at the end of November, but the floods destroyed everything.
“Severe flooding was predicted for December, but it came much earlier than expected.
“About two acres of my five-acre plot were affected, with the maize crop covering around an acre and a half,” he said, Bernama reported.
When met at his farm at Jalan Durian Mentangau, Mohd Noor said while the site had seen floods before, this round of floods was more severe than usual.
His okra crop was also badly affected, causing him to suffer losses of up to RM8,000.
“I also lost two goats in the floods. I had 30 goats, but only 18 made it to higher ground. The other 10 are still on the farm,” he said.Mohd Noor expressed hope that the authorities would provide immediate aid to help farmers like him who have been affected by the floods.
