| Izah Azahari |
THE Ministry of Primary Resources and Tourism recently introduced the Titih paddy. Planting will begin at the end of this year or early next year, which will yield eight tonnes per hectare and bring in more profit to farmers, said the Minister of Primary Resources and Tourism, YB Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Ali bin Haji Apong, during yesterday’s Legislative Council (LegCo) Meeting.
This was in response to the Village Head of Kampong Labi I YB Hanapi bin Mohd Siput’s inquiry with regards to the Laila paddy. The minister added that this is due to the low yield of the Laila paddy, which only produces three to four tonnes per hectare, whereas with the same sized land, water input, manpower and fertilisers, the new Titih paddy will be able to yield a higher amount.
He further explained that it has already become part of the ministry’s policy to increase production, as well as to look for paddy seeds that will yield more harvest for every one hectare.
Even with this introduction, the ministry is continuously aspiring to find better seeds that will be able to produce 12 to 13 tonnes per hectare hopefully by 2019, as the Titih paddy will only be temporary until a better option could be found.
YB Hanapi had also touched on whether the country can sustain itself on the Laila paddy’s yield, to which the minister responded that the ministry has carried out calculations which revealed that the country will need to produce around 30,000 tonnes of rice every year to be able to sustain itself.
This file photo shows a transplanter machine used to plant the Laila paddy. – AZROL AZMI
“If we work on the 800 hectares that exist right now using systematic watering, we will still not be able to sustain ourselves 100 per cent,” said the minister. “We will only be able to achieve about 30 per cent.”
For now, the ministry is not focusing on sustainability but rather on productivity to ensure that farms will be able to plant paddy with higher production until the farmers’ profits are higher than what they are currently earning, so that they will one day no longer need subsidisation from the government.
As of right now, the purchase of paddy is at $1.60 per kilogramme from the farmers.
After processing, it is found that only half of the produce is usable, which is later sold at $1.15, resulting in quite a huge loss for the government.
The minister noted that if we continue with this practice given the low economy, it may burden the government to no end, and that is why the ministry is focusing on increasing the production of each hectare without adding significant costs, which could hopefully decrease the price from farmers but still increase their profits in the future. Furthermore, as the country is still not able to completely sustain itself in paddy production, exporting will not be focused on.
However, if there is a market outside for farmers to export to, the government will not stop them. They will merely need to obtain permission from the authorities to export, just as permission is needed to import rice into the country.
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