Worrying sight: An aerial view of the almost dried up Bukit Merah Dam in Kerian. — Photo from the Irrigation and Drainage Department
KANGAR: The dry spell in Perlis that began in May is becoming a nightmare for padi farmers, resulting in a 50% drop in their income.
Farmers like Khairil Anuar Safar, 52, from Kampung Belukar, are particularly affected as they have just started planting.
“Farmers who began planting in June and haven’t seen any rain are struggling. We can’t even use fertilisers because there’s no water,” he said.
Having been a padi farmer for 12 years, Khairul Anuar considers himself lucky to have other odd jobs to sustain himself.
“Those who rely solely on padi farming are the worst hit,” he said, adding that the dry spell affects other crops too as it can lead to pest infestations.
While dams in Kedah and Penang still have enough water for domestic and agricultural use, the Timah Tasoh Dam in northern Perlis has reached a critical level, dropping to 26.98m from its normal level of 29.10m. This drastic decrease has severely impacted water supply for irrigating padi farms.
Perlis agriculture committee chairman Razali Saad acknowledged the concern, noting that padi cultivation in the northern areas of Beseri, Tebing Tinggi and Wang Kelian has been particularly affected due to their reliance on the Timah Tasoh Dam.
He said that the state is monitoring the situation closely to ensure the viability of padi fields.
He added that this includes cloud seeding over the Timah Tasoh Dam to help increase the storage level.
The dry weather is also hammering Perak, with its Bukit Merah lake falling from its normal level of 8.68m to 6.18m yesterday.
Bukit Merah supplies treated water to the Kerian District in Perak and also to nearby padi fields.
Over in Kedah, padi farmers at areas which don’t come under the Muda Agriculture Development Authority (Mada) are also bracing for the dry season.
Farmers especially those in Kuala Nerang, Padang Terap, Pendang and Baling rely mainly on favourable weather for a successful padi planting season.
Naka Farmers’ Association (PPK) unit chief Abdul Kadir Ismail, 64, said farmers in the affected areas are also unable to fertilise their crops due to water scarcity.
“Many have experienced low yields and lost thousands of ringgit. They now have to replant their crops,” he said.
Efforts to tap water from the nearby Sungai Tekai, he added, have been futile as the river has been dry for months.
During this dry season, farmers have taken up part-time jobs like rubber tapping to earn an income.
Mada chairman Datuk Dr Ismail Salleh said levels of reservoirs managed by Mada are sufficient to meet the needs for padi cultivation and domestic use.
“Although it is low, the water capacity is still enough,” he said, adding that Mada has already planned to carry out cloud seeding operations with help from the National Disaster Management Agency.
The operation will be carried out when there is a need to fill up the reservoirs as it will be crucial for the next padi planting cycle.
As of yesterday, the overall status of reservoirs under Mada’s supervision showed the Pedu lake is at 46.67% of its capacity while the corresponding figures for Muda and Ahning are 13.34% and 83.56%, respectively.
The combined capacity of the three dams is 611,391 acre-foot or 754,138,571 cubic metres.
According to Universiti Sains Malaysia’s atmosfera.usm.my/index.html website, the relative humidity in Penang has dipped by roughly 20% as of yesterday compared with earlier this month.
