‘10-year drought to hit Peninsular Malaysia’

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‘10-year drought to hit Peninsular Malaysia’

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 23, 2024: The National Water Research Institute of Malaysia (Nahrim) reported four years ago that extreme drought will hit Malaysia from next year.

It predicted that the drought will affect Peninsular Malaysia for 10 years.

Nahrim said Malaysia must take concrete steps to ensure its food security.

Are Malaysians taking Nahrim’s warning seriously?

No News Is Bad News reproduces below two related news reports:

 

Prepare now to ensure food security

By ARFA YUNUS

Nation

Tuesday, 10 Sep 2024

PETALING JAYA: Malaysia must take concrete steps to ensure its food security now, given that the country may experience an extreme drought next year, say experts.

According to a report by the National Water Research Institute of Malaysia (Nahrim) four years ago, an extreme drought is predicted to affect Peninsular Malaysia for 10 years, starting next year. If you think it is hot now, conditions are likely to worsen next year, and 10 years of drought will prove to be too long to endure if effective strategies are not put in place soon, the experts warned.

In July, the Malaysian Padi Farmers Brotherhood Organisation (Pesawah) stated that farmers in Kedah may stop padi planting due to extreme weather and low water supply, raising concerns about Malaysia’s ability to ensure food security.

An important step Malaysians can take, the experts said, is to equip themselves with crop planting skills so they can at least ensure enough food for their families.

Economist Prof Emeritus Dr Barjoyai Bardai said it is time Malaysians consider self-sufficiency by engaging in small-scale agriculture where they live.

Barjoyai also highlighted the potential of reintroducing long- neglected crops such as ulam, which includes kacang botol, ulam raja, pucuk paku and pucuk ubi, all of which are highly nutritious, on a commercial scale.

However, he stressed that the government must take an active role by educating the public and providing various technologies to enhance crop productivity.

“In the past, we lived in kampung, so we had ample space to grow ulam. Nowadays, space is a challenge. However, there are solutions, and government support is crucial.

“For instance, aquaponics allows us to raise fish and vegetables simultaneously by cultivating crops together with raising fish in tanks, thus providing two sources of food.

“For those with limited space, vertical aquaponics is an alternative,” he said.

To maintain an adequate supply of chicken and eggs, Barjoyai suggested that Malaysia adopt a system similar to South Korea, where the government creates an ecosystem in which villagers are given a specific number of chickens to rear.

After about 45 days, it collects the chickens and eggs from the villagers, compensating them for their labour.

Nurfitri Amir Muhammad, chief coordinator of the Malaysian Food Security and Sovereignty Forum, urged Malaysians to relearn the lost skill of crop planting which has faded over the decades as the country became industrialised.

“Decades ago, planting crops was a basic life skill, just as dri-ving is today,” he said.

The over-reliance on imported food has not only driven up prices but also left the population vulnerable to supply disruptions, he added.

Nurfitri noted that many Malaysians are no longer familiar with even the simplest agricultural practices, adding that the public does not need large plots of land to begin cultivating crops.

He said even those living in apartments can plant easily- grown crops such as ulam.

This, he said, will be the first step towards reintroducing agriculture into everyday life.

Although there are government initiatives and NGO-led programmes that provide the public with knowledge and access to the latest agricultural technologies, Nurfitri suggested that more concerted efforts are needed to raise awareness.

He said a nationwide campaign will be a good start.

“Actually, the government has many programmes on agriculture and we can greatly benefit from them if only we make the effort to find out and learn.

“Farmers are aware of these programmes, but it is the public who doesn’t know, which is why a nationwide campaign is important to create awareness,” he said.

He cited the Malaysia Agriculture, Horticulture and Agrotourism expo (MAHA 2024) as an example of such platforms, where individuals can learn more about sustainable farming.

“We are just a few months away from this potential crisis in 2025. Are we prepared for it?” he said, warning that without readiness, the country could face severe food shortages.

From 1997 to 1998, Malaysia experienced an extreme drought.

The highest temperature of 40.1°C was recorded at the Chuping Meteorological Station in Perlis on April 9, 1998.

The drought led to a severe water crisis, particularly in the Klang Valley, where the government had to implement scheduled water rationing, severely affecting daily life and disrupting businesses.

MAHA 2024 begins at MAEPS Serdang tomorrow.

Severe dry spells to hit the country next year and 2026

NATION

Friday, 22 Mar 2024

PETALING JAYA: Parts of Malaysia have been baking under a heatwave, but brace yourself, the worse is yet to come, with a government report projecting severe dry spells next year and in 2026.

According to Malaysia’s Third National Communication and Second Biennial Update Report to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), these dry spells will cause up to 36.3% decrease in rainfall in certain areas.

Reduced rainfall will affect raw water supplies, rice harvests, rubber and oil palm yields as well as livestock.

The report was prepared by the Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate Change Ministry in 2018.

Among the areas that will be worst hit are the Sungai Dungun and Sungai Kemaman basins in Terengganu.

Further in the future, dry spells are projected to occur in Sarawak from 2045 to 2055, in the upper central region (Oya, Mukah, Tatau and Balingian river basins), northwest (Similajau, Suai, Niah and Sibuti river basins), as well as the Rajang, Saribas, Lupar and Kemena river basins.

Sabah, however, is not expected to be hit by such severe dry spells at that time.

Based on findings from the El Nino phenomenon that occurred between March 2015 and April 2016, the report said affected dams could include the Padang Saga, Beris, Muda and Pedu dams (Kedah); Bukit Merah dam (Perak); Timah Tasoh dam (Perlis); Labong dam (Johor); Bukit Kwong dam (Kelantan); and Gemencheh dam (Negri Sembilan).

Water levels at these dams fell below the 50% warning mark for at least three consecutive months, from January to August 2016.

“Future projections indicate that these dams may face significant dry spells with a return period of more than 10 years by 2040.

“Effective adaptation actions should be planned and implemented immediately to ensure sufficient water resources during these dry spell periods,” the report said.

Major rice planting areas in Peninsular Malaysia may also see drops in crop yields of between 6% to 31% from 2030 to 2050 due to climate change.

“In particular, studies on dry spells indicate that around 106 water-deficit months will occur in these areas for those periods,” the report said.