KOTA KINABALU, Mar 15 — The Sabah government will hold a meeting tomorrow to decide on mitigation for the drought that was affecting agriculture in the state, said Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Seri Jeffrey Kitingan.
He said the Sabah State Water Council meeting will determine the severity of the drought’s effects on water resources including irrigation systems used for farming.
“After that, we will assess and discuss suggestions to assist farmers, especially in terms of financial aid,” he told reporters today.
Kitingan earlier witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the Sabah Irrigation and Drainage Department (DID) and Chinese company, Shaanxi Construction and Engineering Group, on flood mitigation, irrigation, and drainage projects.
Kitingan, who is also the Sabah minister of agriculture, fisheries, and food industry, said rice farmers were among the most affected.
“River levels have reduced by some 10 to 40 per cent and the Papar and Tambunan districts are among the affected areas as the river water resources for irrigating paddy fields in those areas have diminished,” he said.
In a statement yesterday, Kitingan said five districts in Sabah were identified to be facing critical reductions in river water levels due to the drought or hot weather associated with the El Nino phenomenon.
These were Kota Belud, Keningau, Membakut, Tambunan, and Kota Marudu.
