FARMER LOSES OVER RM20,000 AS FLOODS DESTROY MAIZE, OKRA CROPS

PAKA, Dec 4 (Bernama) -- “The water rose too quickly, unlike anything I’ve seen before,” said Mohd Noor Besar, a farmer who suffered a loss of more than RM20,000 when his maize and okra crops were destroyed in the recent flood disaster.

The 50-year-old farmer, who has worked the land for 15 years, expressed his frustration that the 16,000 maize crops he had planted in early October couldn’t be harvested on schedule due to the floods, causing an estimated loss of more than RM8,000.

“This maize crop should have been ready for harvest at the end of November, but the floods and the rapid rise in water level destroyed everything. Severe flooding was predicted for December, but it came much earlier than expected.

“About two acres of my five-acre plot are affected, with the maize covering around an acre and a half. It’s been flooded several times before, but this time, it’s much more severe,” he told Bernama when met at his farm on Jalan Durian Mentangau, around 10 kilometres from Dungun town.

The entrepreneur, guided by the Rubber Industry Smallholder Development Authority (RISDA), also mentioned that his okra crop, cultivated on half an acre, was severely affected, with around 3,000 plants destroyed, causing him to suffer losses of RM7,000 to RM8,000.

“I also lost two goats in the floods. I had 30 goats, but only 18 made it to higher ground. The other 10 are still on the farm.

“The floods started after 12 hours of nonstop heavy rain on Thursday, causing the water to rise quickly and submerge the farm on Friday,” he said.

Mohd Noor said his crops, like maize and okra, were usually sent to the Paka market or picked up directly from the farm by wholesalers.

He hoped the authorities would provide immediate aid to help farmers like him who have been affected by the floods.

-- BERNAMA