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Life on a padi farm in Kedah

Farmer Saadon Abu Bakar must wait another three to four months to harvest his crop which was swamped by the recent floods.

Ahmad Sadiq Mohamad Sani
1 minute read
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A farmer in Kampung Alor Senibong in Langgar, Kedah, gets an early start to the day, heading out to his fields at sunrise.
A farmer in Kampung Alor Senibong in Langgar, Kedah, gets an early start to the day, heading out to his fields at sunrise.
Sitting on the ground outside his house, Saadon Abu Bakar pulls on a pair of rubber boots as he prepares to head out to his fields as well.
Part of his preparations entails mixing up the insecticide which he uses to keep pests at bay in his fields.
With his equipment laid out on the ground beside one of his fields, he begins to prepare the mixture.
A selection of the basic household supplies which he uses to mix his insecticide. All in all, these will cost him hundreds of ringgit.
Once he has finished compiling his mixture, he pours it into a container which he straps to his back, ready to be sprayed in his fields.
The process requires him to wade through mud in the very middle of the padi fields to ensure that as many pests as possible are destroyed.
In the evening, his friend Che Halim Che Dan comes to help pull out the unwanted grass and weeds growing at the side of his padi fields.
Saadon gestures to show how high the water level rose during the floods which hit his fields earlier this year.
It’s hard work, but the two friends can still smile at the end of the day, knowing that they have done a good job.
Most of their flood problems last month were due to the close proximity of a canal to their rice fields. During the days of heavy, continuous rain, the canal overflowed and swamped the villagers’ crops.
An aerial view of Kampung Alor Senibong, tucked away in a sea of green padi fields.