00:00With all due respect, we, as representatives of Malaysian farmers, would like to draw the attention of the government
00:12to the urgent issues faced by the farmers in this country.
00:16The following are some of the things that we would like to convey and ask to be acted upon properly
00:23on the capacity as representatives of the people or the powerful parties.
00:28First, regarding the increase in rice and paddy prices.
00:31The cost of paddy operation has increased dramatically due to the increase in the price of paddy,
00:37diesel oil, as well as the cost of taxation and payment.
00:41We ask that the minimum guaranteed price of paddy be increased to RM1,800 per tonne
00:48from RM1,400 per tonne to balance the cost.
00:55The cost of paddy is now RM5,000 per hectare.
00:59If the yield of paddy is 6 metric tonnes per hectare,
01:03the paddy will receive RM3,400 per hectare for 6 months of paddy production,
01:11which means that the paddy will receive RM560 per hectare per month.
01:18The increase in the minimum guaranteed price of paddy to RM1,800
01:23will enable the farmers to receive RM5,800 in profits
01:28or RM960 per hectare per month, which is the minimum.
01:34The average yield of paddy produced in Malaysia is 1.2 hectares,
01:40which means that the income of a farmer is RM1,159 to RM2,898 per month.
01:50This is in line with the minimum salary of a Malaysian worker, which is RM1,700 per month.
01:57The current local rice price, RM2.60 per kilogram,
02:02needs to be increased in line with the increase in the price of rice to RM3.70 per kilogram.
02:09The price of rice has never been increased for 16 years,
02:12while the price of other goods has increased dramatically.
02:17This gives heavy financial pressure to the farmers.
02:21If the price of paddy and rice is not increased,
02:24the farmers will have to bear higher costs,
02:28which ultimately burden us in helping the government to ensure the security of the people's food.
02:34We ask that the subsidy of paddy and rice be credited to the farmers
02:39as much as RM20.60 per bag, which is 20 kilograms of paddy and rice.
02:45This is to improve the quality of paddy and rice produced by the paddy and rice loggers,
02:50so that they can compete to produce the best paddy and rice,
02:54as well as to allow the farmers to produce paddy and rice for their needs.
02:59Over the past two years,
03:01more and more farmers have been storing and processing paddy and rice themselves
03:06because they are more confident in its quality.
03:08The average farmer is disappointed with the quality of paddy and rice produced by the paddy and rice loggers.
03:14It is unfair if an innovative farmer like this
03:18does not receive two subsidies when processing paddy and rice himself,
03:23i.e. the subsidy of paddy and rice,
03:25which is because only paddy and rice are sent to Keylang,
03:29which is paid a price subsidy.
03:30And the subsidy of paddy and rice is given to the export company
03:34so that the price can be reduced.
03:37There are cases where paddy and rice loggers
03:39cannot produce enough paddy and rice
03:42causing the farmers to face difficulties.
03:45How should the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry deal with this issue?
03:48The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry has met several times
03:53with the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry,
03:55especially with the Minister himself.
03:57But so far, we have not seen any action from the Minister.
04:02So this is an opportunity for us to speak out
04:06so that the issues that I mentioned earlier
04:09can be taken into consideration by the Ministry.
04:13What should we do now?
04:15Is it because of the paddy and rice issue?
04:18Actually, the paddy and rice issue
04:20has been discussed since 2017.
04:23From time to time,
04:24it has been changed by the government.
04:26It means that even before this,
04:28we have always been proactive in giving views
04:32and suggestions on the issues that arise
04:34in each country that has paddy and rice.
04:38How fast can the government
04:41get support from all parties?
04:45We hope that with the current issues,
04:49with the balance of costs
04:51after the DSA announcement
04:53that was announced 10 months ago,
04:55we hope that there will be a good thing
04:58related to the price of land.
04:59The price of land that we see now
05:02is not guaranteed to the farmers
05:03because the price of land is set at SRM 1,300.
05:06But if we increase the price to SRM 1,800,
05:08there will be an incentive from investors.
05:11And we want that SRM 1,800 land
05:14to be logged and landed
05:16so that it can be guaranteed
05:18to the farmers in all of Malaysia
05:20who bear the cost of 30% increase
05:22from the DSA announcement.
05:24Because the farmers and entrepreneurs
05:26do not see the benefits
05:27that they get from other entrepreneurs.
05:36For more UN videos visit www.un.org
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