Kg Bebuloh padi farming gets shot in the arm after land grant

Wail Wardi Wasil
BRUNEI-MUARA

THE grant of 43 hectares of land to Kg Bebuloh for padi farming has given a shot in the arm to people interested in padi cultivation.

Md Said Tundak, the village head of Kg Bebuloh cum the chairman of the Kg Bebuloh padi fields told The Brunei Times that the move has boosted the number of people engaged in padi cultivation which has reached to 73.

Prior to the land grant the number of padi farmers was 34 but now this number has almost doubled.

“This is the highest number of padi farmers that the village has ever seen. Previously it was at 60 and that was in 2002 when the village first started its padi plantations,” he said.

Md Said said that out of 73, only 34 padi farmers are residents of Kg Bebuloh while the other 39 comprises young farmers from the Belia Berpadi programme which is a collaboration between the Ministry of Primary Resources and Tourism (MPRT) and the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports (MCYS).

The other padi farmers, he said consist of first time padi farmers hailing from all over the Brunei-Muara district such as RPN Lambak Kanan and Kg Mentiri.

“The new padi farmers has shown a lot of promise because they despite lack of experience have decided to enter the field of padi production because they believe that it could become a lucrative source of income,” he said.

“This new development is very encouraging because it shows the commitment of the country towards achieving food self-sufficiency,” he added.

The village head said that the new padi farmers have not started their planting season as they are currently working on clearing the new land.

Md Said added that the 43 hectares of new land was granted to the Kg Bebuloh padi plantations last month from MPRT, making the total area of land under Kg Bebuloh padi plantations 79 hectares.


Sumber - The Brunei Times