KOTA KINABALU, Feb 14 (Bernama) -- The government's move to readjust the floor price of paddy at RM1,500 per metric tonne effective Sunday, has encouraged paddy farmers in Sabah to produce more paddy and rice than before.
Raiman Sondiro, 52, a farmer from Kota Belud, who cultivates about 1.61 hectares of paddy fields was previously affected by the increase in cost for planting paddy, especially fertilisers and pesticides, that he felt the effort to grow paddy was not worth the effort because the profits obtained were very small.
"There are indeed fertilisers and poisons that the government had distributed, that is why we can hope to get some profit and initiative to continue planting (paddy). But when the government announced the adjustment of the floor price of paddy, my income can increase to RM4,000," said the farmer from the Dusun ethnic group.
Mohd Jaafar Latif, 45, another farmer from Kota Belud, said the announcement made by the government yesterday strengthened his enthusiasm to expand the paddy cultivation area compared to only 1.21 hectares out of the total 2.83 hectares that he owned.
"We don't plant everything because the profit (margin) is not very encouraging, when we sell it at a higher price, it is worth expanding the planting area. In fact, to hire workers, we are able to include young people because we can hire them with higher income," said the farmer from the Bajau ethnic group.
Mohd Jaafar, who is the third generation of a family of rice farmers, said rice cultivation is very meaningful in the lives of Sabahans so much so that there is a Kaamatan Festival to celebrate the rice harvest festival.
Previously, Deputy Chief Minister I Datuk Seri Dr Jeffrey Kitingan, who is also the state Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Industry, said Sabah had to import about 70 per cent of its rice needs from abroad and following that, Sabah intends to increase the SSL of rice to 60 per cent by 2030.
Meanwhile, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Food Security Datuk Arthur Joseph Kurup said the government's move to readjust the floor price of paddy was made because it was concerned about the grievances of the people, especially farmers and industry players.
"The MADANI government is concerned about the expressions conveyed by the people and this shows the commitment of the government that has listened to the grievances, especially from the rice farmers, as well as the rice and rice industry players," he said.
Arthur said this was a short-term measure whereby the government issued an additional allocation of RM150 million to bear the increase for the first six months, before looking at more effective implementation in the long term.
"We will see the impact after the period and if this step is good for the longer term, we will continue to make improvements.
Yesterday, Agriculture and Food Security Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Sabu announced a readjustment of the floor price of paddy from RM1,300 to RM1,500 per metric tonne, besides maintaining the local price of white rice at RM2.60 per kilogramme (kg) with the government absorbing part of the production cost of around RM150 million for a period of six months.
--BERNAMA
