Paddy planting in Kota Belud yet to meet set target

KOTA KINABALU: The objective of developing paddy planting in Kota Belud has not been achieved although the Sabah government has given various subsidies and continued assistance to the farmers, says the AuditorGeneral's Report 2017 Series 2 released yesterday.

It said that natural disasters had a direct impact on paddy planting overall while the subsidy reduction in 2016 led to a drop in the planting area in 2017.

“The area for planting, paddy yield and productivity for 20152017 did not meet the set targets.

“The objective of raising the farmers' income also was not fully achieved because 52.2 percent of them were still earning below the Poverty Line Level (PLL) of RM1,180 per month (household) in 2017 while 33.3 percent were hardcore poor, with earnings below RM760 per month (household),” the report said.

The report also said there were weaknesses in the management of paddy cultivation, from the financial aspect, granting of ploughing incentives to farmers (IPKP) and tractors as well as in the irrigation and drainage systems.

The report recommended that the state's Agriculture Department, the Sabah Farmers Organisation Authority (FAO) and the Drainage and Irrigation Department conduct studies on alternative methods to plant paddy commercially to increase productivity and to enhance research by investing in technology.

The report also recommended a review of the distribution of subsidy and aid from federal agencies and to consider the use of technology, like ‘drone' or Global Positioning System (GPS), for a more effective way to monitor and verify subsidy claims.

It also recommended that IPKP payments be made directly to the farmers. - Bernama