KUALA LUMPUR: The priority of the Cabinet paper on the new padi floor price proposal is to strike a balance between the livelihoods of farmers and the needs of consumers, says Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim (pic).
The Prime Minister said that Agriculture and Food Security Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Sabu will present the proposal in Cabinet next week.
“This is a very important issue; even an additional RM1bil allocation for padi farmers will not be enough to cover the production costs.
“As such, next week, the minister will present a paper (to the Cabinet) to announce and explain the new price,” he said during Prime Minister’s Question Time in the Dewan Rakyat yesterday.
Anwar said to balance the rising production cost of farmers and the selling price, the government had agreed to further bear an additional subsidy cost of RM150mil for the first six months of this year.
He said another RM1bil will be channelled to the Muda Agricultural Development Authority (Mada) to increase padi production.
“The government has approved a total of RM1bil to Mada, which will be disbursed at the end of this month, to increase production and supply for local demand from 56% to 70%,” he added.
Anwar was responding to a question by Datuk Seri Ronald Kiandee (PN-Beluran) who had asked the government to state whether it will review the existing policy of producing 70% local rice and importing 30% for consumption.
Last week, groups of padi farmers from across the country submitted a memorandum to the Prime Minister’s Office, seeking to raise the padi floor price to RM1,800 per tonne from RM1,300.
Anwar also refuted the claim that the rationalisation of diesel launched last year would lead to an increase in production cost as the government had listed padi farmers as recipients under the Subsidised Diesel Control System programme.
“Share the names of padi farmers who are burdened with the increased diesel cost, we (the government) will reimburse them.
“Under the Padu (Central Database Hub) system, it’s guaranteed that farmers and smallholders can still enjoy subsidised diesel.
“The government had also allocated RM600 annually for each farmer, which should be enough to bear the (additional) costs of diesel,” he said.