Way too much water: Rice farmer Zakaria Yusop looking at his flooded rice field in Rompin, Pahang. — Bernama
PETALING JAYA: The ongoing floods have affected rice yields in the country, with estimates suggesting a cumulative damage worth some RM24.5mil, says the Agriculture and Food Security Ministry.
As of Jan 15, floods had affected at least 2,542 padi farmers across six states.
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“The states bearing the brunt of this catastrophe include Perak, Negri Sembilan, Johor, Kelantan, Terengganu, and Pahang,” the ministry said when contacted.
According to data compiled by the ministry, the north-east monsoon event has adversely affected approximately 5,262.17ha of rice fields.
Currently, the Agriculture Department and various technical agencies at the district and state levels are actively working on collecting data to enable aid to be channelled.
When asked about the impact of floods and the rainy season on the rice harvest, the ministry said this year’s harvest will definitely be affected.
“But it depends on the extent of damage that occurs,” it added.
In a statement on Tuesday, the Malaysian Meteorological Department (MetMalaysia) issued a continuous rain warning at alert level for Kuantan, Pekan, and Rompin in Pahang, along with Kluang, Mersing, Kulai, Kota Tinggi, and Johor Baru in Johor.
Rice farmers also expressed their concern over the potential impact of weather events on this year’s harvest, with Abdul Rahim Md Husein, 57, from Tangkak, Johor, concerned over the possibility of his fields being flooded.
He said Tangkak has experienced floods in previous seasons, resulting in significant losses for farmers who did not receive timely assistance.
With the recent rainfall in Johor, Abdul Rahim is worried the region might face flooding again, potentially affecting the next harvest scheduled for February.
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Flooded rice fields lead to abnormal plant growth as the plant’s access to oxygen and sunlight are reduced, thus limiting the plant’s ability to photosynthesise.
In addition to this, rice stems have nodes that can break when there is great pressure from strong wind or rain.
Cloudy skies that send rain also means less daylight is available, making the rice plants weaker.
“In general, during the rainy season, young rice seedlings may be affected. If a flood occurs close to the harvest, farmers will incur substantial losses,” said Abdul Rahim, who added that the planting seasons in Johor are in February and October.
Allen Lim, secretary of the Malaysia Rice Grain Wholesalers Association, said Selangor farmers also worry about the impact of continuous rain on the rice planting schedule.
“Frequent rainfall will certainly affect planting. The new planting season is in February.
“Although Sekinchan (home to Malaysia’s most productive rice fields on yield per hectare basis) has not experienced flooding, excessive rainfall can submerge padi fields, affecting the seedlings.
“If rain continues into February, rice farmers are concerned about the impact on this year’s rice harvest,” he said.
