SIMANGGANG: The agriculture and food security ministry has set the floor price for padi purchases in Sabah and Sarawak at RM1,300 per tonne, starting from Feb 15.
Its minister, Mohamad Sabu, said the decision was made to increase rice production and standardise the floor price for padi purchases throughout the country.
“At present, the price for padi purchase in Sabah and Sarawak is relatively low, around RM900 to RM1,100 per tonne.
“This new price will help increase farmers’ income and encourage them to increase rice production,” Mohamad said after visiting Jelapang Padi Batang Lupar at Dewan Nangkai Stumbin here today.
Also present were his deputy, Arthur Joseph Kurup, Sarawak deputy food industry, commodities and regional development minister Abdul Rahman Ismail, and Sri Aman Development Agency (Sada) chairman Rohani Abdul Karim.
For the long term, Mohamad said the government needed to strengthen the nation’s food security by expanding rice cultivation areas in Sabah and Sarawak through the Ala Sekinchan Large-Scale Smart Padi Field Programme (Smart SBB).
“The Smart SBB programme in Sarawak is being undertaken by the Batang Lupar Integrated Agricultural Development Area, in collaboration with Bernas and Advansia (Sarawak) Sdn Bhd. This project covering 72ha in Tanjung Bijat, Sri Aman, began in 2021,” he said.
Mohamad said 202 farmers have embraced this initiative by cultivating the MR269 padi variety sourced from the Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute (Mardi) in the peninsula.
“This project has recorded a very encouraging harvest in the second season of 2023, with 5.5 tonnes obtained from each hectare compared to 2.8 tonnes per hectare previously,” he said.
Mohamad was confident the government’s target to increase the national rice self-sufficiency level could reach 80% by 2030, building on the current 62.6% achievement. - FMT
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