The Malaysian Padi Farmers Brotherhood Organisation (PeSawah) urges the government to review the minimum price of paddy following increases in seed prices, diesel fuel, plowing and harvesting costs.
Its chairman, Abdul Rashid Yob said the minimum paddy price should be raised from RM1,400 to RM1,800 to offset rising input costs.
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Its chairman, Abdul Rashid Yob said the minimum paddy price should be raised from RM1,400 to RM1,800 to offset rising input costs.
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NewsTranscript
00:00With all due respect, we, as representatives of Malaysian farmers, would like to draw the attention of the government
00:12to the urgent issues faced by the farmers in this country.
00:16The following are some of the things that we would like to convey and ask to be acted upon properly
00:23on the capacity as representatives of the people or the powerful parties.
00:28First, regarding the increase in rice and paddy prices.
00:31The cost of paddy operation has increased dramatically due to the increase in the price of paddy,
00:37diesel oil, as well as the cost of taxation and payment.
00:41We ask that the minimum guaranteed price of paddy be increased to RM1,800 per tonne
00:48from RM1,400 per tonne to balance the cost.
00:55The cost of paddy is now RM5,000 per hectare.
00:59If the yield of paddy is 6 metric tonnes per hectare,
01:03the paddy will receive RM3,400 per hectare for 6 months of paddy production,
01:11which means that the paddy will receive RM560 per hectare per month.
01:18The increase in the minimum guaranteed price of paddy to RM1,800
01:23will enable the farmers to receive RM5,800 in profits
01:28or RM960 per hectare per month, which is the minimum.
01:34The average yield of paddy produced in Malaysia is 1.2 hectares,
01:40which means that the income of a farmer is RM1,159 to RM2,898 per month.
01:50This is in line with the minimum salary of a Malaysian worker, which is RM1,700 per month.
01:57The current local rice price, RM2.60 per kilogram,
02:02needs to be increased in line with the increase in the price of rice to RM3.70 per kilogram.
02:09The price of rice has never been increased for 16 years,
02:12while the price of other goods has increased dramatically.
02:17This gives heavy financial pressure to the farmers.
02:21If the price of paddy and rice is not increased,
02:24the farmers will have to bear higher costs,
02:28which ultimately burden us in helping the government to ensure the security of the people's food.
02:34We ask that the subsidy of paddy and rice be credited to the farmers
02:39as much as RM20.60 per bag, which is 20 kilograms of paddy and rice.
02:45This is to improve the quality of paddy and rice produced by the paddy and rice loggers,
02:50so that they can compete to produce the best paddy and rice,
02:54as well as to allow the farmers to produce paddy and rice for their needs.
02:59Over the past two years,
03:01more and more farmers have been storing and processing paddy and rice themselves
03:06because they are more confident in its quality.
03:08The average farmer is disappointed with the quality of paddy and rice produced by the paddy and rice loggers.
03:14It is unfair if an innovative farmer like this
03:18does not receive two subsidies when processing paddy and rice himself,
03:23i.e. the subsidy of paddy and rice,
03:25which is because only paddy and rice are sent to Keylang,
03:29which is paid a price subsidy.
03:30And the subsidy of paddy and rice is given to the export company
03:34so that the price can be reduced.
03:37There are cases where paddy and rice loggers
03:39cannot produce enough paddy and rice
03:42causing the farmers to face difficulties.
03:45How should the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry deal with this issue?
03:48The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry has met several times
03:53with the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry,
03:55especially with the Minister himself.
03:57But so far, we have not seen any action from the Minister.
04:02So this is an opportunity for us to speak out
04:06so that the issues that I mentioned earlier
04:09can be taken into consideration by the Ministry.
04:13What should we do now?
04:15Is it because of the paddy and rice issue?
04:18Actually, the paddy and rice issue
04:20has been discussed since 2017.
04:23From time to time,
04:24it has been changed by the government.
04:26It means that even before this,
04:28we have always been proactive in giving views
04:32and suggestions on the issues that arise
04:34in each country that has paddy and rice.
04:38How fast can the government
04:41get support from all parties?
04:45We hope that with the current issues,
04:49with the balance of costs
04:51after the DSA announcement
04:53that was announced 10 months ago,
04:55we hope that there will be a good thing
04:58related to the price of land.
04:59The price of land that we see now
05:02is not guaranteed to the farmers
05:03because the price of land is set at SRM 1,300.
05:06But if we increase the price to SRM 1,800,
05:08there will be an incentive from investors.
05:11And we want that SRM 1,800 land
05:14to be logged and landed
05:16so that it can be guaranteed
05:18to the farmers in all of Malaysia
05:20who bear the cost of 30% increase
05:22from the DSA announcement.
05:24Because the farmers and entrepreneurs
05:26do not see the benefits
05:27that they get from other entrepreneurs.
05:36For more UN videos visit www.un.org