80 metric tonnes of locally produced rice will be provided by the Farmers Agriculture Marketing Authority (FAMA) and the Johor Farmers Organisation (PPNJ) to address the state’s local rice shortage.
The chairman of the Johor State Agriculture, Agro-Based Industry and Rural Development Committee, Datuk Zahari Sarip, announced that the intervention in the local rice supply would take place in stages beginning yesterday and lasting through the end of the week.
In addition, Zahari said that the distribution of the basic food supplies would take place in four locations, namely in Johor Bahru, Simpang Renggam, Batu Pahat, and Tangkak.
“We are certainly facing challenges in supplying local rice. However, the state government is initiating several programmes to assist the people, whereby activities and initiatives carried out by the Federal Government will continue to be adopted at the state level,” he told reporters after attending the 2023 State Progressive Peladangnita Madani Economy Course at PPNJ.
In order to prevent the rice shortage from getting worse, Zahari said that the state government has also planned a number of initiatives.
Additionally, he stated that 2,254 hectares of paddy planting in 10 different locations across the state are being carried out by 900 farmers.
Along with Tangkak (842.97 hectares), the locations also include Muar (364.22 hectares), Mersing (549.38 hectares), Batu Pahat (141.70 hectares), and Kluang (356.12 hectares).
“During the 2021 and 2022 paddy harvest season, Johor produced 6,225 metric tonnes of rice which was a 30.1 per cent increase in yield compared to the previous years,” he said.
The state government of Johor, he continued, is committed to implementing numerous initiatives and programmes to increase the productivity of rice in the state, despite the fact that it is not widely recognised as a state that produces a significant amount of rice.
