HUGE LOSS: Hamzah (second left) with organisation members looking at the padi that were destroyed by the brown plant hoppers. — Bernama photo
JITRA: Over 200 padi farmers in Kampung Pida 3 and Kampung Pida 3 1/5, Tunjang near here suffered losses amounting to tens of thousands of ringgit after their crops were destroyed by disease brought by brown plant hoppers.
Sanglang B2 Area Farmers’ Organisation chairman Md Nor Hamzah said the sudden attack of the brown plant hoppers had caught the farmers by surprise as it was quickly spread and had affected over 300 hectares of padi fields.
Md Nor, who is also a padi field owner in the area, said some of the farmers even tried to use insecticides to kill the brown plant hoppers, but to no avail.
“We have waited almost four months to harvest our crops, but they were destroyed by these brown plant hoppers, causing us to suffer losses of between RM20,000 and RM50,000.
“Some of the farmers were forced to harvest their crops earlier for fear that the disease will spread and cause further damage to the rest of the padi fields,” he told reporters here yesterday.
Md Nor also called on the area farmer’ organisation to monitor the situation and conduct a detailed research to find suitable control measures to prevent a recurrence of the problem.
Meanwhile, Hassan Samat, 66, said his yield dropped by 80 per cent this year following the attacks and he only managed to harvest nine tonnes of padi as compared to 21 tonnes last year.
He said this had also affect his income and his family’s preparation for the upcoming Hari Raya.
“We are depending solely on the padi field as we have no side income. I hope the relevant authorities would offer some aid and assistance to ease our burden,” he added. — Bernama