KUANTAN, March 27 — Tube wells will be built in six states through an allocation of RM4 million to solve the irrigation problem faced by some farmers during this period of drought hitting the country.

Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Deputy Minister, Datuk Seri Tajuddin Abdul Rahman said the six states included Kedah, Perlis, Kelantan and Pahang, using the method of extracting water from underground and channelling it to the agriculture areas each time a drought occurred.

“We admit the extreme hot weather due to the (El Nino) phenomenon has affected agriculture output, including the seasonal crops and caged-fish farming.

“But we had prepared early with various actions taken in facing the problem and we are closely monitoring the situation,” he told reporters after visiting the pasar tani (farmers market) at the Pahang Urban Transformation Centre, here, today.

Tajuddin said the ministry had also identified other measures to ensure the wellbeing and income of farmers were not adversely affected by the current drought.

He said the country’s agriculture output supply had also not reached a critical level although faced with the El Nino phenomenon.

On another note, he said the 34 pasar tani in Pahang recorded sales amounting to RM52 million last year, exceeding the target of RM50 million.

“In the first two months of this year alone, sales had reached RM11 million and we have planned to open four more pasar tani in Pahang,” he said.

Tajuddin said one of them had begun operating in Pekan while the other three, in Kuantan, Bentong and Temerloh, were still in the process of implementation. — Bernama