Abstract
Integrated Agricultural Development Authority (IADA) Kota Belud in Sabah and Batang Lupar in Sarawak are considered as young granaries which have been gazetted by the government. As new granaries, farmers were expected to face challenges in ensuring the rice cultivation sustainability. This study aimed to assess the cost and benefits gained by farmers in understanding whether the rice cultivation could be maintained and to give positive impact on farmers’ livelihood. The primary data was collected from 120 farmers in two areas. IADA Kota Belud had 58 responses while IADA Batang Lupar had 62 responses. Average rice yield at IADA Kota Belud was 2.9 mt/ha with an average subsidised production cost at RM1,665.31/ha and RM2,856.91/ha without subsidies. The farmer‘s net income was RM1,246.48/ha with subsidies and RM64.88/ha without subsidies. This showed a relatively large gap of income between subsidised and unsubsidised rice production/ha. Meanwhile, at IADA Batang Lupar, there were two scenarios in weighing the return of the farmer‘s income through different average selling prices/kg of rice. For both scenarios, the estimated cost of production was RM1,163.59/ha with subsidies and RM2,345.19/ha without subsidies. Though the average production was low at 1.47 mt/ha compared to IADA Kota Belud, the selling price was RM4.20/kg. Therefore, farmer‘s gross income was RM6,174/ha if they decided to sell all of the harvests to the local niche market for the traditional rice varieties that have been widely used in Batang Lupar.
Abstrak
Kawasan Pembangunan Pertanian Bersepadu (IADA) Kota Belud di Sabah dan Batang Lupar di Sarawak dianggap sebagai jelapang muda yang telah diwartakan oleh kerajaan. Sebagai jelapang baharu, petani dijangka menghadapi cabaran dalam memastikan kelestarian penanaman padi. Kajian ini bertujuan untuk menilai kos dan faedah yang diperoleh oleh petani dalam memahami sama ada penanaman padi dapat dikekalkan dan memberi impak positif kepada kehidupan petani. Data primer dikumpul daripada 120 petani di dua kawasan. IADA Kota Belud mempunyai 58 respons manakala IADA Batang Lupar mempunyai 62 respons. Purata hasil padi di IADA Kota Belud ialah 2.9 mt/ ha dengan purata kos pengeluaran bersubsidi pada RM1,665.31/ha dan RM2,856.91/ha tanpa subsidi. Pendapatan bersih petani ialah RM1,246.48/ha dengan subsidi dan RM64.88/ha tanpa subsidi. Hal ini menunjukkan jurang pendapatan yang agak besar antara pengeluaran/ha beras bersubsidi dan tidak bersubsidi. Sementara itu, di IADA Batang Lupar, terdapat dua senario dalam menimbang pulangan pendapatan petani melalui purata harga jualan/kg beras yang berbeza. Bagi kedua-dua senario, anggaran kos pengeluaran ialah RM1,163.59/ha dengan subsidi dan RM2,345.19/ha tanpa subsidi. Walaupun purata pengeluaran adalah rendah pada 1.47 mt/ha berbanding dengan IADA Kota Belud, harga jualan adalah RM4.20/kg. Oleh itu, pendapatan kasar petani ialah RM6,174/ha jika mereka memutuskan untuk menjual semua hasil tuaian ke pasaran khusus tempatan bagi varieti padi tradisional yang telah digunakan secara meluas di Batang Lupar.