Izah Azahari & Adib Noor
Continuous heavy rains are flooding farms in the Brunei-Muara District, causing damages to crops and affecting agricultural activities.
Several Agricultural Development Areas (KKP) in the district affected include KKP Batumpu, KKP Limpaki and KKP Si Bongkok, Batong.
A farmer in KKP Batumpu said floods are common during rainy seasons but the current one is causing damages to vegetable crops ranging from BND10,000 to BND20,000. To mitigate the problem, the farm has installed water pumps to drain the plots.
Temburong District’s KKP Labu Estate was also not spared from flooding issues.
Farmer Haji Sulaiman said the heavy rains flooded his banana farm on Friday and Saturday nights.
“This is the worst flood I have ever experienced. There were damages to a new plot I planned to grow pisang kapas, pisang Sabah and pisang berangan,” he said.
He added that the affected trees were about to bear fruits, thus the damages are estimated to be around BND3,000.
Haji Sulaiman said the authorities are considering building better drainage in the area and maintain it with regular clearing in the next three to six months.
A representative from Hamnan Jaya Farm said its banana crops were affected too but no estimation of losses are available yet.
To help farmers, the Department of Agriculture and Agrifood (DAA) is providing continuous assistance, including advice and clean drains to reduce the likelihood of flooding.
There is currently a flood mitigation project at KKP Batumpu.
The Brunei Darussalam Meteorological Department forecasts that the next few days will see more rain showers.
