Developing integrated concepts toward achieving a vibrant yield for paddy farmers in Kerian, Perak / Elias Kamaruzzaman

The main objective of this research was to develop an integrated-concept comprising
of government paddy policies, human factors, good agriculture practices and agroinnovations
towards achieving a better yield of not less than 6 MT/ha. This was very
important, firstly to contribute to the food security of Malaysia which currently stands
at only 64% Self-sufficiency Level (SSL) to 80 %. This study was done to address the
research questions of how yield could be increased by restructuring government support
to the farmers. Research question on why was there a need to group the small parcels
of paddy land into bigger and more viable parcels which will be managed by
professional managers equipped with sufficient state-of-the-art machinery and how do
we handle the farmers' sentiments to willingly accept the new concept of large Estate
Management Model in paddy farming was also done. The methodological approach
used for this qualitative research includes the collection of data from purposive samples
by observation, interviews, field studies and secondary data. As the study involves
human factors, the ethnographic approach was used. State-of-the-art software was used
to collate and analyse data. This research found that outdated government paddy
policies in the areas of land usage, lack of good management and enforcement on paddy
subsidies, the negative mindset of the farmers and shortage of labour were the main
causes of the low yield of only 4.9 MT/ha. When these problems are resolved, the
researcher is confident that the yield can rise to 6 MT/ ha. With an average yield of 6
MT/ha, the SSL will rise from the present 64% to 80%. The scope of the study includes
a very detail and in-depth studies of the four approaches mentioned above. However,
the limitation of the study only allows one Kerian granary out of the ten granaries to be
studied. The novelty of the study lies with the integrated approach in combining
relevant qualitative information to derive the ultimate findings of yield increase. Many
types of research were done in isolation but not integrated as done in this research. The
practical implications that can be expected in the execution of this research will be the
human factor concept. To change the farmers mind-sets to abandon smallholding
farming to that of the Estate Management Model, dependency on government subsidies
to augment their income, to train government and paddy agencies’ middle-level staff to
gradually change the farmers’ mindset is not easy but doable over some time. To train
technocrats to operate sophisticated machinery and high technologies such as photo
image forensic, drone pilots and technicians will take time but must be done to achieve
the objectives. These are the areas for future studies.