El Nino: 150 extra pumps to address water supply issues in Kelantan

BHARU: The Kemubu Agricultural Development Authority (Kada) has taken the proactive step of providing an additional 150 units of pumps this year to overcome the anticipated water supply challenges caused by the El Nino phenomenon.

Its chairman Muhammad Husin said these pumps would be deployed according to farmers’ current needs, covering 26,000 hectares of padi fields across six Kada padi planting districts.

“This year, we are adding 150 units of backward pumps involving an allocation of RM200,000 to supplement the existing 86 pumps.

“We have communicated this initiative to farmers, and we are awaiting feedback on areas requiring these pumps,” he told reporters after delivering his New Year’s message at Kada headquarters here yesterday, with general manager Mohd Faizul Mustafa also present.

Muhammad further said that Kada had also received an allocation of RM500,000 from the Agriculture and Food Security Ministry to provide approximately 100 tube wells for areas still reliant on this method.

In a related development, he said while Kada stands as the second-largest padi cultivation area in the country, its yields still lag behind, averaging 4.1 metric tonnes per hectare compared to the north-west Selangor padi fields with 4.32 metric tonnes, the Muda Agricultural Development Authority (4.24 metric tonnes) and Penang (5.05 metric tonnes).

He said one of the factors contributing to the lower rice production in Kada was the lack of a systematic irrigation system.

“At present, Kada does not have reservoirs to contain or store water supplies, unlike other areas equipped with reservoirs for the irrigation systems,” he said.