ISKANDAR PUTERI: The Johor government is set to expand the state’s paddy planting area by 70 hectares in Kluang and Muar, aimed at boosting crop production. State Agriculture, Agro-based Industry and Rural Development Committee chairman Datuk Zahari Sarip announced that with this expansion, the total active rice field area in Johor will increase to 1,920 hectares, up from the previous 1,850 hectares.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, the Agriculture Department will develop a new 20-hectare paddy planting area in Sawah Kahang, Kluang, with an allocated budget of RM613,000. Paddy cultivation in this area is set to begin early next year. Additionally, a 50-hectare area in Sungai Balang, Muar, will be developed, with land clearing and infrastructure development commencing upon receiving approval from both the Muar Land Office and the Johor State Land and Mines Office.

Zahari was responding to a query from Nazri Abdul Rahman (PH-Simpang Jeram) regarding the government’s efforts to expand the country’s paddy cult
ivation area, at the Johor State Legislative Assembly sitting in Kota Iskandar. Zahari, who is also the Buloh Kasap assemblyman, emphasised that although Johor is a rice producer outside the designated rice bowl areas, the state government remains committed to enhancing the productivity of its paddy fields.

Johor’s paddy cultivation area is relatively small, covering just 2,254.39 hectares, which is only 0.8 percent of the country’s total paddy field area of 280,208 hectares. The state is home to 10 paddy fields outside the rice bowl areas, involving more than 900 farmers. During the tabling of the Johor Budget 2025 at the State Legislative Assembly last Thursday, Menteri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi announced an allocation of RM2 million for the development of the state’s paddy industry, including the expansion of new paddy cultivation areas.

Meanwhile, Zahari revealed that the state government is awaiting approval from the federal government regarding a proposal to establish an Integrated Agricultural Deve
lopment Area (IADA) in the Southern Region. This initiative would involve the consolidation of paddy field management across three states – Johor, Melaka, and Negeri Sembilan. On November 4, Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Datuk Seri Mohamad Sabu, announced that his ministry was considering the establishment of the IADA to support paddy farmers in these states. He stated that the IADA’s establishment would improve water management and streamline paddy cultivation across the three states, creating better conditions for local farmers.