PENDANG: Last week's floods in the northern states last week have left the most devastating impact in recent times on the padi farming sector, with a staggering 30,000 metric tonnes of crop worth over RM50 million estimated to have been wiped out.
National Padi Farmers Brotherhood Organisation (Pesawah) chairman Abdul Rashid Yob said the losses were estimated based on a Muda Agricultural Development Authority (Mada) survey where over 5,900 hectares of padi fields under the agency's purview in Kedah and Perlis have been submerged by the floods.
"Mada oversees some 100,000 ha of padi fields and there are over 30,000 hectares more padi fields under other authorities such as Area Farmers' Organisation Authority (PPK) in Kedah and Perlis.
"The 30,000 metric tonnes of padi crop losses is a conservative estimate for now, as we believe that over 6,000 hectares of padi fields in the three states have been submerged by the floods.
"The over RM50 million losses are calculated based on today's padi purchasing price of RM1,800 per metric tonne by private padi millers and the average five metric tonnes padi yield per hectare," he said when contacted today.
Rashid feared that the extent of damage to the padi crop could reach up to 7,000 hectares combined in the northern states, since farmers in Penang were also affected by the recent floods.
"This is by far the biggest blow to our padi farming sector and our food security since the 2005 and 2010 major floods," he said.
Rashid added that last week's floods had such a devastating impact since most of the crop had been waiting to be harvested.
"The damage was not this extensive in 2005 and 2010 as the floods struck when the padi cultivation was in the early stage.
"This time around, the floods hit when the crop was about to be harvested," he said.
Meanwhile, Kedah Farmers' Organisation Authority (LPP) deputy director Nor Rahila Mohd Yusof said 1,260 hectares of padi fields under the agency were affected by the floods.
She said according to a survey on Sept 19, the damage was reported in 64 Farmers' Units across the state, involving 853 farmers.
"We estimate the losses suffered by the farmers affected at RM11.34 million based on 6,300 metric tonnes of padi yield damaged by the floods and the current RM1,800 per metric tonne purchasing price by padi millers," she said when contacted.
Rahila said 19,611 farmers under the agency are cultivating over 34,000 hectares of padi fields in Kedah.
Earlier today, Mada chairman Datuk Dr Ismail Salleh was reported as saying that nearly 5,900 hectares of padi fields under its purview in Kedah and Perlis have been submerged by last week's floods.
He said Pendang is the hardest hit district, with the losses from the affected padi fields surpassing losses recorded during the 2010 major floods in Kedah.
Mada oversees over 100,000 padi fields in Kedah and Perlis, with Kedah alone as the largest rice producer in the country, supplying over 40 per cent of the domestic demand for the staple food.