IPOH: The government will carry out cloud seeding operations in the catchment area of the Bukit Merah dam in Semanggol, Kerian district, in what is hoped to be a solution to overcome dry conditions in the area and help irrigate 19,508 hectares of drying padi fields there.

       Minister of Agriculture and Food Industry Datuk Seri Dr Ronald Kiandee said the areas affected were the Kerian Integrated Agricultural Development (IADA) and part of IADA in Sungai Acheh, Penang covering 1,267 hectares.

       Sub-sectors that will also benefit, apart from 8,889 farmers in the IADA Kerian area and 1,267 farmers from the IADA Penang area, are the fisheries and manufacturing sectors," he said in a statement on Saturday (June 11).

       Ronald said the National Disaster Management Agency (Nadma), the Malaysian Meteorological Department (MetMalaysia), the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) and other relevant agencies are expected to carry out the operations from June 14-16, depending on cloud condition suitability and appropriate humidity.

       "It is a process to encourage the formation of rain clouds after the water level of the Bukit Merah dam, the main irrigation source for the agriculture area, started dipping to the Critical Irrigation Level 3 category of 6.10m (20 feet).

       He said the Agriculture and Food Industry Ministry will be holding talks with the Ministry of Environment and Water (KASA), MetMalaysia, the Perak government and other relevant agencies to find long-term methods to resolve the issue.

       Last Friday, Perak Plantation, Agriculture and Food Industry Committee chairman Razman Zakaria said he was confident that the cloud seeding process would help produce rain in the affected areas. - Bernama