Hundreds of farmers rally in Putrajaya, urge govt to review paddy floor price

Summary

• Farmers urge the government to raise the floor price of paddy from RM1,300 to RM1,800 per tonne.

• They also strongly oppose the proposed Plant Seed Quality Bill, which mandates licences and laboratory testing for seed processing and distribution.

• Farmer representatives submitted a memorandum to the Prime Minister’s Office today, and received assurance their concerns would be forwarded to relevant ministries.

More than 200 farmers from across the country gathered outside the Agriculture and Food Security Ministry office in Putrajaya today, urging the government to review the floor price of paddy.

They also voiced strong opposition to the proposed Plant Seed Quality Bill, which they claim was drafted without meaningful consultation with farmers.

Malaysian Padi Farmers Brotherhood Organisation (Pesawah) chairperson Abdul Rashid Yob argued that the floor price is outdated due to the rising costs of diesel and seeds.

“We farmers from across Peninsular Malaysia have come together today to discuss and demand action on two key issues.

“First, we urge the government to increase the floor price of paddy from RM1,300 per tonne to RM1,800. The current floor price is no longer relevant due to the rising costs of diesel and seeds.

“This price increase is crucial to ensure the livelihood of farmers and to safeguard the country’s food supply. The floor price, set in 2023, is outdated and does not reflect the present economic realities,” Abdul Rashid told reporters.

On the proposed Plant Seed Quality Bill, he said it would burden small-scale farmers.

“This bill will require anyone processing and distributing plant seeds to obtain a licence and submit seed samples for laboratory testing.

“With the rising cost of farming, frequent delays in seed supply, and the declining quality of certified paddy seeds in recent years, nearly 30 percent of farmers have begun processing, sharing, and selling seeds from their own fields to save costs and earn additional income on a small scale.

“We strongly oppose this proposed bill,” he added.

Earlier today, 10 farmer representatives submitted a memorandum to the prime minister’s political secretary Chan Ming Kai, at the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) in the Seri Perdana Complex.

“During the meeting, the PM’s political secretary agreed in principle to our requests.

“He also stated that the PMO would arrange discussions with the relevant parties to address the issues we raised,” Abdul Rashid said.

When asked, Chan confirmed to reporters that the PMO would forward the farmers’ concerns to the relevant ministry.

“We will refer these issues to the respective ministry for action,” he said.

Today’s rally, initially planned to take place outside Seri Perdana, was relocated to the Agriculture Ministry office to avoid disrupting the state visit of Indonesia’s President Prabowo Subianto to Malaysia.

The rally, which began at 10am and lasted about an hour, was also attended by representatives from Perikatan Nasional, PSM, and student groups.

Waving banners with slogans such as “Farmers are not lazy”, “Raise the floor price to RM1,800”, “Students support farmers”, “Farmers’ sweat isn’t free”, and “We reject the Seed Quality Bill”, the protesters declared they could no longer endure mounting losses.

Penalising unlicensed seed distribution

In November last year, Agriculture Minister Mohamad Sabu told the Dewan Rakyat that the drafting of the Plant Seed Quality Bill would first be presented to a parliamentary select committee before being tabled in Parliament.

According to him, the decision was reached during a meeting chaired by Dewan Rakyat speaker Johari Abdul on July 18 last year.

He also said the Agriculture Department is prepared to present the impact of the bill’s amendments to any farmer organisations if necessary.

The proposed bill includes penalties of up to RM100,000 in fines and three years imprisonment for unlicensed seed storage and distribution.

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