The Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (MAFS) clarified today (Jan 4) that the distribution of the special allocation for paddy farmers announced earlier will be carried out in stages to three (3) with East Coast states receiving the aid first, namely Kelantan, Terengganu and Pahang which involves a total of 20,598 farmers.
On 31 December 2022, the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security (MAFS) Mohamad Sabu announced that special assistance from Padiberas Nasional Berhad (BERNAS) amounting to RM10 million for the year 2022 will be distributed in stages to rice farmers amounting to RM250 per farmer.
Meanwhile, farmers from other states will receive the special assistance beginning early this year.
It is estimated that 240,000 farmers across the country will receive the benefit from BERNAS’ contribution which totalled RM60 million.
This assistance is a special government incentive to paddy farmers payable through BERNAS to help alleviate the cost of living for the farmers in addition to the existing benefits provided by the Government in the form of subsidies (input and output).
Currently, the Board of the Farmers Organisation Authority Malaysia (LLP) as the agency responsible for the pay-out is reviewing the list of eligible farmers based on their Fixed Operating Procedures (SOP) set to ensure the distribution process runs smoothly.
MAFS, in a statement said, it’s always sensitive and concerned with the welfare of farmers, livestock breeders and fishermen in addition to providing various forms of assistance and initiatives to the MAFS target group.
