Sabah to study technology to cultivate rice on dry land, salt water

PAPAR: Relevant departments and companies are urged to conduct studies on the application of technology to cultivate rice on dry land and salt water in Sabah.

State Agriculture and Food Industry assistant minister Dr Daud Yusof today said there were paddy fields that were situated close to the sea and exposed to salt water.

He said these paddy fields were in Kota Belud, Tuaran, and Papar; and the ministry had received complaints of salt water seeping into paddy fields in Benoni area.

“Hence I urge the relevant quarters to study various technologies to see if they can be used here (in the state), especially rice cultivation in salt water areas,” he said at the launching of Harvesting Paddy: Restoration Project of Kampung Bunal’s Abandoned Rice Field here.

Daud said such technologies had been long applied in countries like Indonesia and United Arab Emirates (UAE).

“Indonesia has used technology to cultivate rice on dry land, while technology to cultivate rice in salt water is being used in Dubai (UAE).

“These technologies require huge allocation but if this is a good alternative to be developed, the state government does not have problem (to support the application),” he said.

Last year, foreign media reported that rice could flourish in Dubai’s dessert following success of a team of scientists from China by using techniques to filter salt from the sea.

The team led by scientist Professor Yuan Longping, who is dubbed The Father of Hybrid Rice, had also successfully produced rice by using the same technique in China and expanded the technique to West Asia.

Meanwhile, Dr Daud said 40 hectares of abandoned rice fields had been developed this far, with the first paddy harvest being produced at 6.45 metric tons early this month.

“This project has benefitted 46 land owners and 15 youths are involved as contract workers to manage the rice cultivation here,” he said.

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