ALOR STAR: Farmers working over 100,000 ha of padi fields under the Muda Agriculture Development Authority (Mada) have been assured that there will be sufficient water for the second cultivation season this year.
Mada General Manager Kamarudin Dahuli assured the 19,700 farmers in Kedah that, based on a recent simulation carried out by the agency, there would be sufficient water for the next cultivation season, which is due to begin in October.
"Perhaps there are concerns among the farmers in Kedah about the water supply, but Insha Allah, we are still capable of supplying water for the irrigation of padi fields.
"Based on a simulation that we have carried out and the record over the past 20 years, we should be able to supply water to irrigate padi cultivation for the first season of cultivation this year.
"In fact, with the current water reserve percentage, we have also carried out a simulation that shows if there is no rainfall until the end of this (first) season, we shall be able to irrigate the padi fields for the second cultivation season," he told reporters in Kampung Masjid, Kubang Rotan, today.
He was accompanying Chief Statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin during an engagement session with padi farmers here in conjunction with the ongoing Agriculture Census 2024.
Meanwhile, Kamarudin said the three-day cloud seeding operation led by the National Disaster Management Agency (Nadma) beginning Monday has helped to improve water reserves in three dams under Mada supervision.
"From the three-day cloud seeding operations, there were effective rains on Tuesday and Wednesday in the dams, which helped to improve the water reserve levels.
"I wish to inform you that based on the current water reserve levels, especially in the Pedu Dam, we have over 40 per cent reserves.
"From a simulation that we have carried out based on our records over the past 20 years, Insha Allah, we will be able to meet the water supply demand for the ongoing first padi cultivation season in the entire Mada area.
"Based on the current water reserves, we have also carried out a simulation that shows in the event there is no rain until the end of the current cultivation season, we are still capable of irrigating padi fields for the second cultivation season this year.
"Probably there are concerns among padi farmers in the Mada area, but we wish to assure them that there will be sufficient water supply for the next cultivation season," he said.
Kamarudin added that Mada would discuss with Nadma and the Kedah State Water Resources Authority if there is a need to carry out more cloud seeding operations in the dam area.
It was reported that the cloud seeding operation improved water inflow into the Muda Dam in Sik, with 2mm of rain recorded at the water catchment site.
Mada supervises three main water catchments for padi irrigation in Kedah, namely the Muda Dam, Pedu Dam, and Ahning Dam, located in the Sik and Padang Terap districts.
Meanwhile, checks on Mada's portal today showed that water reserves in the Muda Dam remain at a critical level of 7.60 per cent.
The Pedu Dam water reserve level is recorded at about 40 per cent, while the Ahning Dam reserves stand at 82 per cent.