GURUN: A group of padi farmers in Pendang, concerned about the emissions from the burning of padi straw waste, sought an alternative to the traditional method of burning by repurposing the waste.
In 2016, the Pendang Selatan Area Farmers' Organisation (PPK) partnered with local company Free The Seed Sdn Bhd, to utilise tonnes of padi straw waste instead of burning it.
Their collaboration yielded positive results two years later when the company began producing biodegradable food containers.
"We are glad that we are doing our bit to reduce carbon emissions by doing away with burning after harvesting the crop.
"Not only that, but farmers are also earning an additional income of RM450 per metric tonne of padi straw sold to the company," said Abdullah Mohamad, 58, the chairman of Pendang Selatan PPK.
Free The Seed chief executive officer, P. Ramaness said the company has bought some 4,500 metric tonnes of padi straw from the farmers since 2018.
"We have successfully reduced 610,000 kilogrammes of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions into the atmosphere.
"This is part of our effort in reducing global warming impact in the context of sustainable biomass waste management," he said.
Over 90 per cent of biodegradable products manufactured by the company, located in the Gurun Industrial Area, are exported to developed countries.
Despite the positive outcome, Ramaness stressed that more needs to be done.
"In Kedah alone, some 1,080,000 metric tonnes of padi straws are being burnt throughout two padi harvesting seasons every year.
"Through our collaboration, we managed to reduce the burning of between seven and eight per cent of padi straws after the harvesting seasons. There is still huge room for improvement," he said.
Abdullah shared his sentiment, as padi farmers are already suffering the brunt of climate change.
"Our padi cultivation area is located outside the Mada (Muda Agricultural Development Authority) area, so we depend solely on rainfall to irrigate our padi field.
"The impact of climate change is real. We are already suffering from a prolonged dry spell and unusual rainfall," said the graduate of agricultural studies from Universiti Pertanian Malaysia (now Universiti Putra Malaysia).
"For the second cultivation round in October last year, the majority of farmers in Pendang Selatan PPK suffered hefty losses due to a prolonged dry spell.
"Following the huge blow, many farmers decided to stay out of toiling their land in the first cultivation round in April this year.
"The overall yield has significantly dropped from over 4,000 metric tonnes per harvesting season to between 500 to 1,000 metric tonnes for the past two seasons.
"The PPK has also suffered, as the farmers were unable to repay loans which they took to cultivate their land," he said.
Meanwhile, Abdullah is eager to gain new knowledge at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to be held in Baku, Azerbaijan, from Nov 17 to 20.
Abdullah and PPK committee member Keria Saad, 60, will be attending the convention, sponsored by the company.
"I wish to learn about innovations in the agricultural sector to address the global warming issue. It is vital for farmers like us to continue exploring ideas to reduce the impact of padi farming activities on the environment," he said.
For Keria, farmers like him must learn how to adapt to climate change.
"I look forward to learning the best practice for farmers to adapt to erratic weather patterns. Perhaps we can adopt the ideas here," he said.