Sabah rice harvest seen lower next season because of current drought

KOTA KINABALU: Future rice production in Sabah will be affected by the current dry spell, says Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Seri Dr Jeffrey Kitingan.

Kitingan, who is also state Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Industries Minister, said while he was not concerned by the yield before the hot weather, he was however worried about the next production cycle.

“I am worried for the coming season… (the yield) will drop,” he told reporters after chairing a Sabah Water Resources Council meeting here on Friday (March 22).

ALSO READ: Steps being taken to mitigate effects of dry spell on Sabah’s food production

He did not, however, provide an estimate of next season’s yield.

So far, he said, several farms have been affected by the drought, with over 2,000ha of farmland in interior Keningau district severely hit.

Kitingan said this was followed by 108ha of rice fields in the northern Kota Belud, 54ha in south-western Papar district and about 40ha further south in Membakut.

He also said six out of 89 water treatment plants in Sabah were not operating at full capacity including the facilities at Sebatik Island in Tawau, Limbahau in Papar and Banggi Island in Kudat.

On cloud seeding, Kitingan said the exercise has not been carried out in Sabah as yet.

ALSO READ: Right clouds needed for seeding process, says Sabah State Sec

“This is because we have not found any (suitable) cloud in the sky for the seeding process,” he said.

State Secretary Datuk Seri Safar Untong had said previously the Malaysian Meteorological Department (MetMalaysia) was identifying suitable clouds to enable the seeding process.

The Sabah government had requested the procedure from the National Disaster Management Agency (Nadma) after water catchment areas dried up and wildfires increased across the state in the last few weeks.