Even with high‑yield varieties like ‘Menora’ approaching 10 tonnes per hectare, rice still generates lower gross income than that of oil palm. — Bernama photo
IN 2013, Sarawak launched the Batang Lupar ‘Jelapang Padi’ project with great fanfare.
Backed by RM950 million in federal funds, the initiative was meant to turbocharge the state’s padi production.
At the time, Sarawak’s rice Self-Sufficiency Level (SSL) stood at a worrying 46 per cent – a precarious position given the growing volatility of global supply as climate change increasingly takes its toll on harvests in exporting giants like India and Vietnam.
Fast forward to today, and that ambitious project has been laid to rest as an abject failure.
Obstacles and problems that were never factored into its planning eventually swallowed it whole.
Not only did it fail to improve Sarawak’s rice SSL, the situation has also worsened dramatically.
As revealed recently by Datuk Seri Dr Stephen Rundi Utom, Minister for Food Industry, Commodity and Regional Development, during a dialogue with Agriculture Department staff, the state’s SSL has now plummeted to just 21 per cent.
That figure places Sarawak in an even more fragile position should any major disruption hit rice-exporting nations.
This alarming reality has compelled the state government to step in once again.
A fresh allocation of RM1 billion has been set aside to develop padi cultivation infrastructure and ramp up production capacity.
To drive this effort, the Sarawak Padi and Rice Board Bill 2026 was passed in the State Legislative Assembly (DUN) last month, clearing the way for a dedicated state body to oversee and rejuvenate the industry.
The state now aims to produce between 240,000 and 400,000 metric tonnes of rice annually by 2030, with the goal of reaching full self‑sufficiency.
However, for lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle, the announcement of a new board and a billion‑ringgit injection stirred an uncomfortable sense of déjà vu.
During the recent DUN sitting, assemblymen urged the government to learn from the wreckage of the 2013 Batang Lupar project.
Their message was clear: more money and another agency alone will not fix what has long been broken.
So why do rice planting projects in Sarawak keep missing their targets?
The answer lies not in the soil, but in the economic sense.
For many landowners, other crops simply offer a better return on investment (ROI).
A clear trend has emerged across Malaysia: farmers are increasingly shifting away from rice cultivation towards oil palm, which remains far more profitable.
Consider the numbers below:
For oil palm, crude palm oil (CPO) from estates averaged 1.53 tonnes per hectare in the first half of 2025.
With CPO trading around RM4,000 per tonne late last year, gross income exceeds RM6,000 per hectare – and oil palm is harvested year‑round.
Rice, by contrast, even with high‑yield varieties like ‘Menora’ approaching 10 tonnes per hectare, still generates lower gross income.
The government’s floor price of RM1,300-RM1,500 per tonne, plus subsidies, cannot bridge the gap.
When asked why the Batang Lupar project failed to meet its self‑sufficiency goals, Dr Rundi gave a candid answer – many landowners eventually withdrew.
Native landowners, he noted, had gravitated toward more profitable crops like oil palm and pepper, while padi-farming demanded intensive labour and costly machinery.
Knowing the reason for failure is a necessary first step.
Finding a solution, however, may prove extremely difficult.
Authorities are now pinning their hopes on modern padi farming methods – advanced planting and harvesting technologies that reduce reliance on manual labour.
But many of Sarawak’s existing padi farmers are elderly, and learning to operate sophisticated machinery will be a steep climb.
That means attracting youths to take up modern rice cultivation – that is a monumental challenge.
Most young Sarawakians shy away from farming, especially rice-farming.
The Agriculture Department has already uncovered a worrying trend in Peninsular Malaysia: elderly padi farmers are leasing their land to foreigners because no local younger workers can be found to take over.
The authorities have taken a rather lenient view of this development; perhaps seeing it as an unintended solution to the manpower shortage.
And maybe, just maybe, that is one solution worth considering for Sarawak’s push toward rice self‑sufficiency.
It is not a novel idea. The palm oil industry has thrived for decades precisely by employing foreign workers on a large scale.
As of this writing, the state government has yet to release its blueprint for implementing the billion‑ringgit plan to achieve SSL by 2030.
But one thing is certain: lessons from past failures, combined with honest input from foreign experts who have seen similar struggles elsewhere, must play a major role in any successful outcome.
Without that, Sarawak risks a rerun of the same outcome of previous projects.
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