KULIM: Malaysia may break free from depending on rice import by increasing the crop's cultivation to five times in every two years, as compared to twice a year currently.

Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor said while the idea was workable, it would depend on the federal government's willingness to invest in upgrading infrastructures for padi farming sector.

"I am informed that if we could increase the padi cultivation frequency to five times in every two years, we will no longer need to import rice.

"For this to materialise, we need to upgrade existing infrastructure and the federal government will have to provide subsidies for padi sector five times in every two years," he told reporters after closing the Kedah Industrial Skills and Management Development Centre (Kismec) annual general meeting at Kismec Kulim temporary campus in KHTP here today. 

Sanusi added that it would be wiser for the federal government to upgrade existing infrastructures and ramping up local rice production to stop depending the staple food's import to fulfil domestic needs.

"The cost to import (rice) is expensive, it is wiser for our country to upgrade existing infrastructures dan local padi sector so that we can stop importing rice.

"I hope this idea will be given a due consideration (by the federal government)," he said.

Malaysia spends over RM1 billion a year to import over one million tonnes of rice to meet domestic demand.

In a related development, Sanusi said the construction of a temporary water barrier at the collapsed irrigation canal bund in Pelubang, Pokok Sena which collapsed early this month, was almost completed.

He said the Agricultural and Food Industry Ministry had approved a RM2.5 million allocation to rebuild the collapsed section of the Terusan Tengah irrigation canal bund, managed by the Muda Agricultural Development Authority (Mada).

It was reported that a section of the bund had collapsed on May 9 following heavy rain spell in the upper river stream.

The incident had forced Syarikat Air Darul Aman (Sada) several of its water treatment plants, affecting thousands of domestic users in Pokok Sena and other districts

https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2022/05/798818/plant-padi-5-times-every-2-years-and-malaysia-may-break-free-importing