RM400,000 YEARLY FOR RANAU PADDY FARMERS

Ranau, October 22, 2009: Some RM400,000 is allocated by the State Government annually to the district paddy farmers for ploughing their fields.

Senior district agriculture officer Radius Timbuong said the allocation is provided through the government subsidy which had been increased to RM200 per ace paddy field, from previously RM100.

He said apart from ploughing subsidy, the Government also provide a harvesting subsidy of 50 sen per kilogramme of rice sold to Bernas.

Radius said this at the opening of a course on paddy yield improvement towards 10 metric tonnes per hectare organised by the department office here, which was participated by 28 farmers, held at the multipurpose hall of Kampung Paginatan about 45km from town.

Radius said the course is meant to assist and educate the participants to increase their paddy production to 10 metric tonnes or at least five metric tonnes per hectare, from presently 3.5 metric tonnes.

The course was officiated by the Rural Development Ministry's Political Secretary, Japirin Sahadi, representing the Minister Datuk Ewon Ebin.