Sarawak seeks to become Malaysia’s next ‘rice bowl’, rivalling Kedah

KUALA LUMPUR – Sarawak is hoping to become the next “rice bowl” of Malaysia, rivalling Kedah state in becoming the country’s top rice producer, as the federal government continues to grapple with low rice production and supply.

Sarawak Premier Abang Johari Openg said on June 11 that the state needs RM1 billion (S$288 million) for the project and that he has asked for the funds from the federal government so as to embark on large-scale rice cultivation and irrigate 10,000ha of land – or about 20 times the size of Singapore’s Sentosa island.

The Sarawak government is willing to match any funding from Putrajaya on a one-to-one basis, said Tan Sri Abang Johari, adding that he had discussed the matter with federal Agriculture and Food Security Minister Mohamad Sabu.

“I requested, if possible, for the federal government to chip in. Because of the amount (of money), he said he has to refer to the Prime Minister (Anwar Ibrahim), who is also the Finance Minister,” he said.

“We are still following up on this. But we are ready to give one-to-one. If you give RM500 million, we give RM500 million,” Mr Abang Johari was quoted as saying by The Star daily.

The land earmarked for rice cultivation is located in the Stumbin, Lingga and Tanjung Bijat areas in the Sri Aman district in Sarawak, Malaysia’s biggest state by land area.

To boost rice production, he said the state plans to make the best use of equipment and technology – such as drone-spraying fertiliser and pest control, using high-yielding hybrid seeds and more mechanical harvesting methods – to yield 240,000 tonnes of rice from the allocated land.

“In the future, we may be able to produce 400,000 to 500,000 tonnes of rice a year. Sarawak will then be self-sufficient in rice, and any surplus can be exported,” he said.

The East Malaysian state produces about 150,000 tonnes of padi from about 85,000ha – or a yield of 1.8 ton/ha. The average Malaysia domestic rice output is 3.75 ton/ha.

Its rice production, which includes the indigenous varieties of white and red rice from the mountainous Bario region, yields between three and four tonnes per hectare for each harvest.

The famed Bario white rice, which is priced at around RM20 per kg, is largely cultivated by hand, grown with no pesticides, and takes six months to mature. This compares with the ceiling price of RM2.60 per kg for the locally produced white rice consumed regularly by Malaysians.

Kedah is widely known as the “rice bowl of Malaysia”, accounting for nearly 40 per cent of the nation’s total padi production, with close to one million tonnes in annual output. About 85 per cent of the nation’s main rice crop is cultivated in the northern parts of Peninsular Malaysia, with Kelantan, Perlis and Perak being major producers as well.

Malaysia has been facing a shortage of white rice since 2023, following India’s ban on rice exports, which led to a surge in the price of imported rice.

In July 2023, India imposed a ban on exports of widely consumed non-basmati white rice, followed in August by further restrictions on basmati rice and parboiled rice as global food prices were driven up by erratic weather conditions and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Other than India, Malaysia also imports rice from Pakistan, Thailand and Vietnam.

Climate change and price manipulation have also been factors resulting in lower production and tighter supply of rice in recent months, with instances of locally grown white rice – which is subject to a price cap – being labelled as imported rice in order to turn a bigger profit.

Malaysia consumes about 2.7 million tonnes of rice or about 80kg a year per person. Of this amount, about 30 per cent is imported by Padiberas Nasional Berhad (Bernas), to make up for the shortfall in domestic production. Bernas currently has a monopoly on rice imports into the country.

Meanwhile, the country has taken other measures to address domestic shortages, including raising subsidies for padi farmers and increasing scrutiny of the rice supply chain.

A proposal to increase the retail price cap of RM2.60 per kg for locally cultivated white rice, which has been in place since 2008, is also being discussed by several ministries to encourage producers to boost output and quality. A decision on this is expected to be finalised before October.

The Sarawak Premier believes the state’s goal is an achievable one. A pilot project has already been carried out in Gedong, east Sarawak, on a 1ha farm, which successfully yielded 8 tonnes of padi in 2023, according to Mr Abang Johari.

In 2023, Datuk Seri Anwar announced plans to pump RM3 billion into Kedah’s rice production to boost harvests from two a year to five, over two years.

Associate Professor Mohd Hafiz Jamaludin, research fellow at the Institute for Poverty Research and Management at Universiti Malaysia Kelantan, said that Malaysia has been grappling with how to overcome low local rice production for some time now.

“It’s not just about opening new padi areas, but using technology to increase padi production per acreage. We still have big different padi production between different localities, and this should be addressed,” said Prof Mohd Hafiz.

Some farmers are also reluctant to take risks and change the way they farm, such as increasing the crop’s cultivation to five cycles every two years compared with twice a year currently, or changing to a more resistant padi strain, he said.

The new rice-growing areas in Sarawak are expected to raise the national self-sufficiency ratio to between 70 per cent and 75 per cent from about 68 per cent currently, he added.