Life of Annie's blog post on:
Wednesday, 13 December 2017
SAVE'S comments (3):
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Ada komen diatas mengatakan Bernas lebih berfungsi ekonomik kurang sosial. Itu betul tetapi itulah yang dipertanggungjawabkan. Sepatutnya LPN terus menjalankan tugas tanpa dimansuhkan. Kalau Bernas membantah adanya LPN nampaklah sikap sempait Bernas tidak mahu bekerjasama seolah anti-sosial.
Pada hemat saya LPN perlu diberi nafas baru dengan fungsi yang lebih menyeluruh berkenaan padi dan beras termasuk adakan institiut penyelidikan padi didalamnya. Bernas tetap menjalankan import, pemasaran dsb dan seling bekerjasama dengan lembaga khas yang di tubuhkan.
Ambil contoh, pada awalnay penyelidikan kelapa sawit dijalankan oleh MARDI dan sebelum itu Jabatan Pertanian. Kita lihat berapa pesat pembangunan industri kelapa sawit apabila lembaga khas PORIM ditubuhkan.
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If the government is serious towards rice self-sufficiency, a padi and rice (P&R) board need to be established, call it whatever name appropriate. The steps include:
1. Establish a national steering committee of experts and representatives from various institutions relevant to P&R - MARDI, Jabatan Pertanian, UPM, Bernas, Agrobank, MADA, KADA, Jab Parit dan Saliran.
2. A consultancy group consisting of international rice experts and institutions such as IRRI, Japan, China, FAO, Thailand plus local experts to study and recommend a comprehensive P&R development.
3. National steering committee submit to the government a detail and concrete proposal on the scope, functions, structure, budget of the P&R board. The board although a statutory body, semi independent like MPOB is placed under Kementerian Pertanian.
MADA, KADA, Sekinchan, Sg Manik and all other rice producing areas under the development of the Board. Its scope is A to Z of padi and rice development and production - from pre-planting, field management, post harvest, processing, product and by-product utilisation. Bernas may continue with its functions in marketing and import but not in milling.
MARDI, Jabatan Pertanian, UPM, Jabatan Parit dan Saliran, Bernas etc to work closely with Board and vice versa.
It is essential that a P&R research institute functions under the Board. Foreign experts are to complement local researchers. Dry land apart from wet padi research should be included. Biotechnology and mechanisation are areas to be given due emphasis.
These are some of my thoughts.
Currently we produce 65% of our rice need. Inertia for self-sufficiency are due to:
1. Failure to understand that food (rice) security is national security meaning that in times of war, calamity, severe world shortage we cannot feed the population for long.
2. The world's rice market is thin compared to other grains especially wheat. There is a scramble to get the rice market share, its price will be driven up high.
3. The prevailing climatic changes of flood, pollution, temperature rise, water level rise will decrease rice production. The worst case scenario of rice devastation in China - it will buy all excess stocks of Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia. We are we going to import from? China is willing to pay sky high price.
3. Politicians like the short term approach to make impact and sweep problems under the carpet. Anyway their terms of office are short and they change portfolios often. So they say import, the cost is cheaper. This is quite true. How about in the long term for generations to come.
4. Rice cultivation is back breaking business in the hot sun. It has cultural aspects. The Minangkabau descendants of NS have lost their culture of 'kerbau', gotong royong, mengocar etc because they have lost their fields due to irrigation mismanagement, silting of rivers, deforestation. Compare to Sabah, they still keep the harvest festival.
5. There is discontinuity of technology and knowledge transfer to younger generation in rice growing. Small acreage is not self-supporting, a factor causing rural-urban migration.
6. Rice production has been a disjointed affair - MARDI in research, Bernas in marketing, Jabatan Pertanian extension. There are other aspects and activities not in tandem and poorly taken care of. By establishing a Board will smoothen out and synchronise the flow of efforts.
7. Notwithstanding its performance Mardi must be ready to relinquish its research on rice and Bernas not feel threatened but in certain avenues strengthened by the Board.
8. Bernas monopoly if there is could be the result of poor government policy and organisation on rice production. Rice production consists of long and complex processes. We should encourage competitive systems not monopolistic tendencies.
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Musonnef's problem with Bernas is his personal matter and so is his bankruptcy. In my opinion, being a concerned party he is at liberty to be with or even lead the Padi Rescue. We are talking about food on the table not only for now but future generations.
Strange that just because Bernas is established LPN cannot go on functioning. The two organisations can work and complement each other. Bernas' s scope is quite limited whereas that of LPN is extensive though not comprehensive.
Padi and rice production involves a myriad of activities to include soil and water management, improved seeds, field management, disease and pest problem, harvesting, milling, storage, quality control, marketing to list some.
When Muhyidin was the Minister of Agriculture then, Sustainable Living Institute submitted a memorandum to establish a Padi Board to include a Rice Research Institute in its ambit. Please refer our earlier posting in this blog on a copy of the memorandum to the Minister.
Although MARDI is doing rice research but lack the focus and funding because it involves with so many crops.
Malaysia has been talking towards self-sufficiency for many many years but lack the concrete policies and ideas how to spearhead to the goal. We merely pay lip service and has no political will power to accomplish it.
Take for example Japan, it is self-sufficient in rice. Their state of research is advanced. At one time they have more than 50 scientists working on the rice genome alone not to mention other aspects of rice research. In MARDI we have less than 20 researchers in rice! Its rice gene bank is under funded.