Hybrid rice trials yield up to 12 metric tonnes per hectare

Hybrid rice trials in Debak, Sarikei and Tanjung Purun, Lundu, have recorded promising yields of between eight and 12 metric tonnes per hectare, with potential for further improvement.

Minister of Food Industry, Commodity and Regional Development, Datuk Seri Stephen Rundi Utom said the trials have also received positive feedback on rice quality and taste.

He said the companies involved are progressing towards commercialisation, including large-scale cultivation and seed production.

“These promising results demonstrate the potential of hybrid rice to increase Sarawak’s domestic rice production,” he said during his ministerial winding-up speech at the State Legislative Assembly (DUN) sitting here today.

Datuk Seri Dr Stephen Rundi Utom. – Photo: Ghazali Bujang

Dr Rundi said Sarawak continues to work with research institutions and private companies to identify rice varieties and technologies suited to local growing conditions.

MARDI Sarawak is evaluating 10 new rice varieties at Skuduk-Chupak and Batang Lupar, while trials conducted with Advansia are assessing varieties for salinity tolerance and testing N25 liquid fertiliser to determine its potential to improve hill paddy productivity.

Beyond hybrid rice, research is also being conducted on perennial paddy and ratoon cropping, which could allow successive harvests without replanting and help reduce labour requirements and production costs.

Ratoon cropping is a farming technique in which a crop, such as rice, regrows from the remaining stems or stubble after the first harvest, allowing farmers to obtain another harvest without replanting.

Borneoland Paddy Sdn Bhd, in collaboration with Yunnan University, is studying the potential of this approach.

The first harvest took place in Kuala Baram, Miri, on August 6, 2026, with a second harvest expected in November.

Further trials are planned for Jemoreng and Daro in Mukah, as well as Lubok Punggor in Samarahan.

Dr Rundi said Sarawak cultivated approximately 37,000 hectares of paddy involving 40,000 farmers in 2025, producing 78,000 metric tonnes of paddy, equivalent to 47,000 metric tonnes of rice.

He said the adoption of new technologies, improved infrastructure, high-yielding planting materials and greater private sector involvement would help boost domestic rice production.

To support large-scale cultivation, the ministry has identified 48 potential areas covering about 14,000 hectares. Of these, 10 projects covering 3,460 hectares are at various stages of implementation, with completion expected in phases from 2027.

Meanwhile, about 144 hectares have been allocated for paddy seed production, with two seed farms under development and a processing facility nearing completion. Subject to the facility being ready and certification requirements being met, certified seed supply is expected to begin in 2027.

The initiatives support Sarawak’s target of achieving a 60 per cent self-sufficiency level (SSL) for rice by 2030.