ALOR STAR: Padi farmers in Kedah have lauded the government's move to roll out the proposed two-year five-season padi planting project through an initial RM1 billion allocation.
National Padi Farmers' Brotherhood Organisation (Pesawah) chairman Abdul Rashid Yob said the move to upgrade padi cultivation infrastructure would boost crop yield, which in turn, would raise the farmers' income.
"Pesawah is confident that the government, through the Muda Agricultural Development Authority (Mada) and other relevant agencies, have made various efforts to ensure that the five-season planting project every two years will be a success," he said in response to the 2025 Budget presented by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today.
Anwar, who is the finance minister, said phase 1 of the "Five-season Two-year Padi Cultivation Project" under Mada would begin at a cost of RM1 billion involving over 11,000 hectares of padi fields.
He said the project aimed to increase rice yield by 15 per cent, besides boosting the income of 6,100 farmers by up to 43 per cent.
However, Rashid urged the government to carry out several comprehensive steps to ensure the project's long-term success.
Among others, he asked the government to take into account the issue of flooding in padi fields, unpredictable weather and extreme rainfall in coming up with a more systematic padi planting schedule.
"At the same time, the government needs to consider the capacity of rice millers, and most importantly, the increase in rice yields must align with reasonable pricing to balance the rising cost of future cultivation," he said.