The Muda Agricultural Development Authority (MADA) expects the progress of paddy cultivation in the Muda Area to reach 90 per cent by the middle of next month.

MADA chairman Datuk Dr Ismail Salleh said this would enable the Muda Area paddy cultivation area to obtain a gross output of 450,000 tonnes, which is equivalent to 274,000 tonnes of rice or 27.4 million bags of rice.

“As of Sept 18, 20 per cent of the Muda Area has been harvested, with an estimated gross output of 100,000 tonnes, which is equivalent to 54,000 tonnes of rice or 5.4 million bags of rice,” he said in a statement today.

Meanwhile, he said the three MADA dams have a sufficient amount of water for the second season of paddy planting activities this year.

According to him, the water level at the Pedu Dam is at 83.22 per cent, Muda Dam (66.13 per cent) and Ahning Dam (98.94 per cent).

He also advised farmers in the Muda Area to comply with the paddy planting schedule issued by MADA to prevent water wastage and to use only legal paddy seeds for planting purposes.

Dr Ismail said that, to ensure the continuity of national rice production, MADA has also implemented strategic programmes to increase paddy harvest in the Muda Area by focusing on large-scale paddy planting and paddy planting projects five times in two years.

According to the latest five-year average (2017-2021), the Muda Area is the country’s biggest rice producer, with the area of paddy parcels reaching 100,641 hectares in Kedah and Perlis, which contribute between 39 per cent and 43 per cent of rice per year to the country.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency