SABAK BERNAM: Selangor needs at least RM1 billion to enhance padi productivity, Selangor Infrastructure and Agriculture Committee chairman Datuk Izham Hashim said.
He said the state government will soon engage with the Federal Government to discuss funding through the Integrated Agricultural Development Area (IADA), Northwest Selangor to achieve five planting cycles every two years.
“The funding is crucial to upgrade drainage systems, build water retention ponds, and acquire 80.9 hectares of paddy fields from Tanjong Karang to Sabak Bernam.
“We are facing problems to get water to Sabak Bernam, so we want to increase water capacity in most areas in northwest Selangor so that there is adequate water supply for five planting cycles every two years,“ he told reporters today, and pointed out the importance of the upgrades as Selangor has no new land for padi cultivation under current plans.
He also expressed confidence that all infrastructure improvements could be completed within three years if allocations were approved by the Agriculture and Food Security Ministry.
Izham shared that Selangor was also fine-tuning new methods to enhance collaboration between farmers and stakeholders, including FGV Holdings Berhad, which has demonstrated large-scale padi yield improvements in the state.
“We have proposed RM100 per ton incentives for farmers achieving seven-ton yields,“ he said, noting that currently only farmers in Sungai Leman and Sekinchan areas were capable of achieving such yields out of the state’s 9,000 padi farmers.
Earlier, Izham attended a farmers’ appreciation event in Sungai Leman and launched Briar & Behn Meyer’s BASE fertilizer technology at Dewan Seri Sekinchan here.
