PM wants MOSTI to focus on flood-resistant padi seeds for better yield

He said these two padi varieties involve seeds which can withstand flood waters and do not consume a big amount of water.

He said countries like the Philippines and India had produced padi seeds which could withstand flooding and Malaysia as a country prone to unpredictable floods should also have flood-resistant varieties.

"Seedlings which are growing are also easily submerged in water and destroyed. So, I have asked MOSTI to look into producing seeds which even in the event of flooding would protect farmers' crops from damage despite being submerged in water for some time," he said.

The prime minister was speaking at a ceremony for handing over the IS21 padi seed variety to the community at Felcra Sri Mahkota in Endau here today.

Elaborating on the padi seed variety which does not consume lots of water, Ismail Sabri said the Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute (MARDI) had earlier conducted studies on this type of seed.

However, the yield produced by this variety was quite low at about three to four tonnes, he said.

Therefore, he wants MOSTI and MARDI to continue their research to improve the yield to help farmers cut costs and increase their profits.

"MARDI has conducted studies on a padi seed variety which is not cultivated in fields with stagnant water but can be watered like flower plants and does not need irrigation.

"I have also launched it in Penang earlier but its yield was quite low then. So, we want MOSTI and MARDI to conduct studies to ensure the yield is not too low," he said.

Ismail Sabri also called for more local researchers in various fields to pool their resources in research and development to develop the country's agrofood innovation.

He said the government always ensured that efforts to improve productivity in the padi industry were conducted in a proactive manner, including using the latest technology to tackle challenges.

"I have been told that MOSTI has extended research funds to the Pengeluar Padi Sah company in Sekinchan with the cooperation of the Nuclear Agency to develop the IS21 padi seed production plant according to international SOP standards to produce high quality seeds," he said.

On the IS21 padi seed launched in November last year in Sekinchan, Selangor, Ismail Sabri said farmers who used this variety had given positive feedback.

He believed that farmers in Endau can improve their income and standard of living if they use the IS21 variety.