KUCHING: Rice harvested from the Drainage and Irrigation Department (DID) Paddy Scheme in Tanjung Purun will be commercialised for the local market.
According to a Sarawak Public Communications Unit (Ukas) report, Tanjung Datu assemblywoman Datuk Amar Jamilah Anu said the paddy planted was the MR269 type and only took 90 days to ripen compared to conventional paddy.
“This paddy only takes 90 days or two to three months compared to the previous variety which took six or seven months,” she said.
She said this during the launch of paddy harvesting at the DID Paddy Scheme in Tanjung Purun, Kampung Stunggang Melayu on Tuesday.
She said 59 of the 96 paddy farmers around the Lundu District who were involved in paddy cultivation in the DID Paddy Scheme, Tanjung Purun had been given a ploughing subsidy assistance of RM600 per hectare. The total subsidy was worth RM18,418.20 for 2019 and last year.
Jamilah said this year, an estimated RM38,000 harvest subsidy is required at a value of RM500 per hectare.
“As of January this year, 87.5 hectares of land have been developed through this scheme and 52.5 hectares are yet to be cultivated,” she said.
Because of the use of machines, two sacks of paddy can be harvested in five minutes.
