KOTA KINABALU: The Agriculture and Fisheries Ministry will work with the Malaysian Nuclear Agency (MNA) to introduce the novel paddy variety NMR152 in Sabah.
Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Dr Jeffrey Kitingan said for starters, the paddy variety will be introduced in his constituency in Tambunan.
“This is a high-yield variety that can produce 10 metric tonnes of rice per hectare, compared to only two to three tonnes with normal seeds.
“It is also resistant to a variety of diseases including tungro which is prevalent in Sabah,” he said.
Kitingan, who is also the Agriculture and Fisheries Minister, said under this collaboration, MNA will provide the seeds and the bio-fertiliser and pesticide needed as well as undertake soil profiling to assure optimum growth.
“This project has the potential to assist us address our low self-sustainability level (SSL) problem, and as a bonus, it requires less pesticide and employs environmentally-friendly fertiliser.
“We need to make sure that our farming is moving more and more towards organic farming,” he concluded.-pr/BNN
