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| Md Said Tundak, Village Head of Kg Bebuloh said El Nino may affect the next padi planting season. |
Wail Wardi Wasil
BRUNEI-MUARA
VEGETABLE farmers in the sultanate are affected by the El Nino climate phenomenon, with their crops fast wilting in the current dry weather, decreasing their harvest.
In an interview with The Brunei Times, most of the vegetable farmers lamented over the fact that their decreased productivity has also caused a decrease in their monthly income.
Nur Ni’mah Qistina Abdullah Saban, 38, who operates a vegetable farm along with her family for more than 10 years, said that the heat has caused the soil on their farm to dry up and crack.
Even with the occasional instances of rain, she said, it is not enough to compensate for the dry weather.
“This may be one of the worst dry spells that we have experienced (and) the retention pool in our farm dried up last month and we have to depend on pipe water to water our crops,” she said.
Meanwhile, Lamun Perayam, who sells her crops at Pasar Tani Selayun, said the vegetables that have survived the heat and are good for harvest do not meet satisfactory quality in terms of appearances, leading to consumers avoiding purchase.
She said that leafy vegetables are most affected by the current weather pattern. These include crops such as selasih and cangkuk Manis.
Despite the poor quality of crops during this (season), Lamun said farmers are still able to grow and sell their crops, so she must still remain competitive and is not able to raise her prices.
“Before the dry season, I would earn an average of more than $100 a day, but now, I only earn between $20 and $70. However, this can still sustain me and my family,” said the 70-year-old.
Similarly, another vegetable farmer, Hilmi Salleh said prior to the dry season, she was able to sell 90 per cent of her crops. Now, she could barely sell 60 per cent of her harvest. “The dry weather has affected the quality of our crops and customers usually will opt for the best looking vegetables. As a result, we have resorted to lowering our prices.”
Hilmi, who helps out in operating vegetable farms owned by her parent-in-laws, said that one of their farms in Bukit Agok, Tutong, is suffering as the retention pool which they use to water the crops has dried up. “We have to control our planting now (because) we don’t have enough water (and) sometimes we resort to asking other farmers in the area for water from their retention pools,” added the 34-year-old.
Padi farmers on the other hand, are not yet affected by the El-Nino climate phenomenon as the water for irrigation from the Imang Dam is still reliable.
Md Said Tundak, the village head of Kg Bebuloh cum chairman of the Kg Bebuloh padi fields and Mat Noor Maaruf, the village head of Kg Wasan cum chairman of the Kg Batang Perhentian padi fields, said they have harvested the padi from this year’s first planting season. “However, if this dry weather persists until May or June, which is typically when we start our second padi planting season (then) we might have to postpone the planting season. This may disrupt the flow of our padi production,” said Mat Noor.
Md Said said that the heat is detrimental to padi production due to its affects towards the padi farmers, adding that the heat has caused a number of farmers to spend less time on the field.
It was previously reported that according to the Meteorological Department, strong El-Nino conditions are expected to persist over the Pacific Ocean before gradually weakening in June.
Sumber - The Brunei Times
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