YAN: Rising costs and low crop yields are forcing many padi farmers to abandon their fields or take on backbreaking side jobs to make ends meet.
"We earn only about RM800 a month.
"If our padi is hit by disease, we make nothing at all. We suffer losses and fall deeper into debt," said Mohd Hafidz Ismail, 41.
The padi farmer from Sungai Limau Dalam said many locals had switched to other jobs or leased out their fields as the cost of padi farming continued to rise.
Out of a sense of duty, he has persisted, renting about 11 hectares from local landowners.
"If the government does not raise the floor purchase price of padi from RM1,300 per tonne to RM1,800, I believe even more young people will avoid padi farming.
"They would rather work elsewhere and earn at least RM1,500 a month than endure the uncertainty of padi farming.
"I pay RM1,000 to rent a 'one-relong' plot (0.29 hectares), and I need RM45,000 per season.
"After deducting all costs, we barely make ends meet—getting rich is out of the question," he said after joining about 50 farmers at a peaceful gathering here today.
Another farmer, Esomuddin Abdul Wahab, 52, said he earned around RM1,000 a month and had to take up side jobs, such as manually spraying pesticides on fields for RM15 per 0.29 hectares.
"Imagine carrying a pesticide tank under the scorching sun just to survive.
"I have two children in university — one in Jordan and another at a local public institution — while two others are still in school.
"Our expenses are high. People may think we live comfortably, but we are buried in debt.
"We owe money to rice millers just to farm and put food on the table.
"After harvesting, we pay them back. That is the cycle of a farmer's life; we can breathe a little easier once our children start working," said Esomuddin, who rents about 16 hectares of farmland.
He said his motivation to keep farming was to fulfil his responsibility in ensuring the nation's staple food supply remained secure.
At the very least, he said, his work allowed landowners to earn some income rather than letting their fields go to waste.
Meanwhile, Malaysian Padi Farmers Brotherhood Organisation (Pesawah) chairman Abdul Rashid Yob said padi farmers were struggling under rising costs, with many earning as little as RM350 a month.
"This is why we submitted a memorandum demanding that the padi floor purchase price be raised from RM1,300 per tonne to RM1,800—so that farmers' hard work is properly valued.
"We urge the government to act swiftly, as the harvest has begun. How can farmers survive on earnings below the poverty line?
"Our gathering was not influenced by any political group or party. We came forward as farmers, hoping our voices would be heard," he said.
On Sunday, about 500 farmers gathered in Putrajaya to pressure the government to increase the floor purchase price of padi.
Ten Pesawah representatives submitted the memorandum to the Prime Minister's Office, where it was received by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's political secretary, Chai Ming Kai.