Farmers lament flood losses
MIRI: Crops worth thousands of ringgit were destroyed or submerged by the rising flood water in Telang Usan, Mulu and Marudi constituencies the last one week.
Total losses have yet to be determined as most of the farmers are trying their best to save and salvage their crops while others cannot do anything due to the fast flowing water that has overflowed to their farms.
Tuai Rumah Jarau Jayrome from Tinjar claimed that oil palm fruits in his sister’s son’s farm could not be harvested because the farm had been submerged under water.
He said some of the oil palm fruits were destroyed by the rising water and the road to the farm was not passable to vehicles.
“Many ripe oil palm fruits were submerged in flood water as the farm is located at lower ground and I’m trying to salvage the ripe fruits before they rot.
“Our only alternative to save the ripe fruits is by using a small sampan ( boat) to collect and transport them to higher ground but we have to think about how to transport them to Lapok or Bakong as the road is cut off,” Jarau told The Borneo Post yesterday.
He hoped to get the authorities to compensate for their loss in due time as, like other farmers in rural areas, oil palm smallholding is their only source of income.
On the other hand, he hoped the flood water will subside soon so that they can get back to normal life.
A farmer from Long Jegan, also in Tinjar, Dennis Keji, said most of the oil palm farms located near the river bank were submerged by flood water and they felt helpless as they could not do anything to salvage their crops.
“We can’t harvest some of the ripe fruits as the water level is rising and our longhouse is also flooded,” he pointed out.
He said longhouse folks from Long Sobeng and Long Loyang also felt helpless to see their crops destroyed by the flood.