Meet Yon, one of Mada’s most successful young farmers

KUALA LUMPUR - Mohd Amirul Idris was devastated when his four-hectare padi smallholding in Kedah was inundated after major floods struck the nation’s rice bowl in 2010, leaving him with losses of over RM20,000.

The young man, who is also known as Yon, has put the dark episode behind him, having learned valuable lessons from the experience and emerging more mature and determined than ever to become a successful farmer.

Today, Amirul, 36, owns an eight-ha padi smallholding in Kampung Alor Rela in Langgar, Kedah, where he cultivates two high-quality species, MR219 and MR297, which generate a healthy yield of about nine to 9.5 tonnes of rice per hectare during each harvesting season and provide him an average income of RM6,000 a month.

His earnings have enabled him to buy four tractors, two lorries and a pesticide-spraying drone, all of which cost him a tidy RM350,000.

Little wonder, the Muda Agricultural Development Authority (MADA) has hailed Mohd Amirul as a "hero” and icon of Kedah’s young farmers for producing such high yields.

On his part, Amirul - who attributes his success to the help and guidance rendered by MADA - is positioning himself as "living proof” that padi cultivation can be profitable; he is also committed to attracting more young people to the sector.

Speaking to Bernama when contacted recently, he recollected the 2010 incident.

"I almost fainted when I saw my padi destroyed... it was my main source of income with which I supported my family. But I didn’t want to remain passive. For most of us, rice is our staple food and I felt responsible for ensuring a continuous supply of rice, so (after the floodwaters subsided) I started replanting padi,” he said.

TOIL AND SWEAT

Amirul said he developed an interest in padi cultivation in 2004 when he worked in the padi fields belonging to his fellow villagers.

"I was 18 then and had just completed SPM (Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia). Soon I got to like what I was doing and decided to pursue padi planting,” he said, adding that a year later he had saved enough money to lease a plot of land measuring three relung (0.5-ha) to grow padi. At that time, each relung of land could be leased at around RM400.

As the saying goes, "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." Eighteen years after taking that first step, Mohd Amirul has become one of the most successful young farmers in the Muda area in Kedah.

The father of one is the epitome of the hardworking farmer who toils daily from 7 am till the sun has set.

Declaring that a farmer’s work is never-ending, he said after the padi seedlings are planted, his daily routine will include applying fertilisers, spraying pesticides and ensuring the plants are protected from fungi, bacteria and pest attacks.

One of the main threats he has to look out for is rice blast, a disease caused by Pyricularia oryzae. This fungus can cause lesions or rust-like spots to appear on the leaves of the padi plants, which will reduce the rice quality and lead to significant losses for farmers.

"It’s true we padi farmers face a number of challenges including combating rice blast disease, which is very exhausting as I’ve to apply pesticides and fertilisers frequently. But I can manage it through my experience as well as with the help of industry stakeholders including MADA,” he said, adding he is deeply indebted to the government agency for providing him and other young farmers with much-needed guidance and various incentives.

EMPOWERING PADI INDUSTRY

Amirul said after he joined MADA in 2012, he was extended facilities such as revolving capital amounting to thousands of ringgit to lease padi fields as well as fertiliser subsidies.

As for his future plans, he said he intends to lease more padi fields from their owners who are no longer able to cultivate their lands.

"I hope through my efforts, I can help to improve the socioeconomic status of the local community here by offering them part-time work on my padi fields such as plowing, applying fertilisers and spraying pesticides,” added the industrious farmer, who has two full-time workers assisting him.

MADA chairman Datuk Dr Ismail Salleh, meanwhile, told Bernama his agency is constantly striving to contribute padi cultivation-related knowledge and assistance, including on the use of technology, to the 54,886 farmers in the Muda area that come under its supervision.

MADA manages the Muda area - known as Malaysia’s biggest rice bowl - which covers 143,553 hectares of land, out of which 100,641 hectares comprise padi cultivations spreading over Kedah and Perlis.

Ismail said in order to manage a rice-growing area of that size which contributes to nearly 40 percent of the nation’s yearly rice output, MADA has to implement various strategies to improve padi yields as well as stave off competition for land by other socioeconomic sectors including industrial and housing development.

As for improving rice yields, he said MADA is focusing on the implementation of the Large-Scale Padi Planting programme (PPSB) to enhance yields through the centralised management of padi cultivations on a large-scale basis, which will also reduce the cost of rice crop productions.

The PPSB initiative, which started in 2010, is aimed at encouraging farmers to expand their padi cultivations to at least five hectares each to enable them to attain a monthly income of RM4,000, a move to help lift them out of the B40 category.

As of now, some 4,226 farmers (7.7 percent) in the Muda Area cultivate rice fields of more than 4.6 hectares each.

MADA has also welcomed the government’s proposal to implement padi cultivation five times within a two-year period to reduce the nation’s dependence on rice imports. The agency has already implemented this project on a 213.99-ha area, involving the participation of 165 MADA farmers. - BERNAMA