SABAK BERNAM: Selangor needs at least RM1bil to enhance padi productivity, says Selangor Infrastructure and Agriculture Committee chairman Datuk Izham Hashim.
He said the state government will soon engage with the Federal Government to discuss funding through the Integrated Agricultural Development Area (IADA), Northwest Selangor to achieve five planting cycles every two years.
"The funding is crucial to upgrade drainage systems, build water retention ponds, and acquire 80.9 hectares of paddy fields from Tanjong Karang to Sabak Bernam.
"We are facing problems to get water to Sabak Bernam, so we want to increase water capacity in most areas in northwest Selangor so that there is adequate water supply for five planting cycles every two years," he told reporters on Saturday (May 3) and added that the upgrades are important as Selangor has no new land for padi cultivation under current plans.
He then said that he is confident that all infrastructure improvements could be completed within three years if allocations were approved by the Agriculture and Food Security Ministry.
Izham added that Selangor was also fine-tuning new methods to enhance collaboration between farmers and stakeholders, including FGV Holdings Berhad, which has demonstrated large-scale padi yield improvements in the state.
"We have proposed RM100 per ton incentives for farmers achieving seven-ton yields," he said, noting that currently only farmers in Sungai Leman and Sekinchan areas were capable of achieving such yields out of the state's 9,000 padi farmers.
Earlier, Izham attended a farmers' appreciation event in Sungai Leman and launched Briar & Behn Meyer's BASE fertilizer technology at Dewan Seri Sekinchan here. - Bernama
