JOHOR BARU: Farmers grappling with rising operational costs due to the high price of fertilisers and pesticides are hoping for some form of government subsidy to cushion the impact.
Vegetables and livestock: So Tiok (left) and Chee Hee.
PETALING JAYA: The longer than usual rainy spell has caused the price of vegetables to soar, in some cases by over 100%, it was revealed.
Federation of Malaysian Vegetable Farmers Association adviser Tan So Tiok said the wet weather started about a month earlier than usual.
He said the problem was further compounded by the lack of farmhands due to the closed border.
“Many of our foreign workers returned to their countries in February and haven’t been able to come back since.
“With no farmhands and more rain, farmers have no choice but to slash production, ” he said, adding that prices of both local and imported vegetables have gone up by 30% to over 100% since two months ago.