PCS welcomes proposed revival of Sabah Padi Board

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Datuk Seri Wilfred Bumburing

KOTA KINABALU: Parti Cinta Sabah (PCS) welcomes the state government’s intention to look into the possibility of reviving the Sabah Padi Board.

Its president, Datuk Seri Panglima Wilfred M Bumburing in a statement said the revival of Sabah Padi Board was in the main thrust of the manifesto of PCS during the last general election.

The revival of the board will address some pertinent issues in regard to rice production in the state, he pointed out.

“I never failed to bring the issue whenever I made my debate speech in the Dewan Undangan Negeri. However I am dismayed by the lack of interest and action by the BN state government. They were clearly oblivious to the fact that the production of rice in Sabah had been dwindling over the years to a critical level of 26 percent to date,” he said.

Bumburing lamented that whenever the previous state government touched the issue of rice production they always tied it up with the ‘jelapang padi’ in Kota Belud, forgetting the many padi land smallholdings which are increasingly abandoned.

No concrete study was made to find out the reason for abandoned padi land, he claimed adding: “I had brought up some issues in the State Assembly sitting for the government to look into but the then Minister of Agriculture then showed no interest at all and the answers given to questions were always lukewarm.

“Some of the pertinent problems are lack of interest from the young generation on padi cultivation or they are employed in other economic sectors which are seen as more productive in terms of income,” he said.

Also, Bumburing pointed out, padi planting is seen by the new generation as being laborious and subsistence jobs.

Another problem is the lack of production inputs, such as lack of farming machinery, irregular maintenance of irrigation channels, no supervision from the Agriculture Department, rendering the small farmers being left alone to cater for themselves, he alleged.

The smallholders used to receive assistance from both the state and federal governments in terms of cash subsidies, insecticides and fertilizers. Apart from the fertilizers, the herbicide assistance had virtually stopped and the cash subsidies had been drastically reduced to the extend that it is not sufficient to pay for the hiring of ploughing tractors, he stressed.

The new government must not look at padi cultivation purely on a business profit prospective. It must be accepted that, for the smallholders, there is not much money to be made from padi planting, he opined.

It must necessarily be looked at in terms of food safety net for the state, in view of the dangerously low level of production now, and not less important in assisting the rural padi farmers to produce their own rice, he said.

It is inevitable that financial assistance be ploughed into this sector. Rice being the staple food of the people, industrial development should not necessarily put padi production into the back burner of the economy, said Bumburing.

“During one of my visits to Japan, I had the chance to inquire about the Japanese government’s policy on rice production. I was informed that their government would ensure, at all times, that rice production would not diminish to ensure that this staple food is always available to the Japanese population. Subsidies are unavoidable.

“However, these are derived from the government revenue from other sectors of the economy. This is called cross-subsidizing among economic sectors,” he said.

According to Bumburing, the state is earning about RM900,000 to RM1 billion from the oil palm cess.

The state government could channel about RM100 million to subsidize rice production, he opined, adding that Felda Sabah also was contributing about RM100 million but this fund would go to Umno. This fund should be utilized for rice production in the state.

“All these issues must be addressed before even talking about new technologies. First and foremost is, there must be local people taking a new interest in padi planting. Talking about the SRI system in Indonesia, I share my experience in bringing somebody from Indonesia in trying the system in Tamparuli.

“The end-result is good, but without the appropriate planting mechanization it is a very laborious method. A very good drainage system is paramount. It must not be forgotten that Indonesia has the privilege of surplus labour which can always be employed in this sector.

“I would suggest to the government to revive the present practice first and when all the padi lands are fully utilized, then we can go into other technologies which include introduction of new padi varieties.

“I strongly believe that concerted effort be made on this sector by the government. Rice production in Sabah can be made in a very short period of time, therefore putting an ease to the import of rice to the state.

“In the meantime I strongly urge the state government to talk to the federal government to dismantle the monopoly of import of rice to the country. The monopoly is without common sense and it was made to benefit certain cronies of the BN government. I urge the state government to take over the control of the import of rice to the state.

“I hope the ministry takes a fast track action on the proposal. PCS is ready to assist, and we have an individual who has the appropriate qualification and is familiar with the old Sabah Padi Board. We undertake to fully support the proposal as we are very keen on this very important issue,” said Bumburing.