KLUANG: A tapioca farmer in Kampung Sungai Linau, Simpang Renggam, suffered over RM60,000 in losses after 1.6 hectares of his crop was damaged by floodwaters.
Muhamad Nasir Jamiun, 61, expressed disbelief that heavy rain for more than two hours early last Sunday submerged 25,000 of his tapioca plants.
"Tapioca submerged in floodwaters for more than two days will rot and become unsellable. A mature plant can produce over 10 kilogrammes of tubers.
"In the past 10 years of farming, I've only had a full harvest four times. The rest were damaged either by floods, wild animal attacks, or plant diseases.
"This time, I didn't expect the water to rise so quickly; usually, it takes three days for the area to flood, but this time, everything was submerged after just two hours of heavy rain," he said.
He noted that fortunately, the main cassava plants were intercropped with his oil palm plantation, rather than planted on rented land.
"Moving forward, I will need to find another area that is not prone to flooding to continue my tapioca farming," he said, accepting the loss of the plants.
He also acknowledged that the low-lying area next to the river was a contributing factor to the frequent flooding of his crops.