THE Agriculture and Food Security Ministry is ready to seed clouds to induce rainfall over padi fields if El Nino persists, Mohamad Sabu told the Dewan Rakyat today.

The agriculture and food security minister said this will be done with the Meteorological Department, National Disaster Management Agency and Prime Minister’s Department.

“If there is an urgent need, the ministry is ready to conduct cloud seeding operations. This is what we will do if El Nino persists.

“The ministry has taken early measures, such as installing backward pumps and portable pumps of up to 30 horsepower, building tube wells, and repairing pump houses to supply water to affected areas,” he said during the question-and-answer session.

He said this in response to Nurul Amin Hamid (Padang Terap-PN) on the government’s measures to buffer the impact of El Nino on the country’s food supply, especially padi.

Mohamad said efforts like building more irrigation ditches and deepening padi field drains had been undertaken to ensure adequate water supply.

Responding to Nurul Amin’s supplementary question about whether the ministry intends to set up a special fund to help farmers affected by El Nino, Mohamad said several ministries will discuss the matter. 

Earlier, Mohamad said the occurrence of black spots on durians had resulted in the temporary suspension of their imports.

“We still don’t know the cause because no study has been conducted… Musang King durians are cheaper (now) and more people can enjoy them; (although) some of them have black spots, it is said that they are not dangerous for us to eat,” he said. – Bernama, June 15, 2023.