Dry spell continues

SAMARINDA, East Kalimantan: Thousands of hectares of paddy fields in the Tenggarong subdistrict of the Kutai regency here face harvest failure due to the insufficient rainfall.

Head of the local Ministry of Agriculture Sofyan Alex said here yesterday that the regencies of Berau, Bulungan and Pasir might also face the same plight.

"I just received reports from farmers today, and my office is checking on them today," he was quoted by Antara as saying.

Sofyan said that although rain has sporadically fallen since November, the level is still below farmers' expectations who rely on the rain to irrigate their paddy fields.

According to Sofyan, farmers in some of the province's main rice producing areas such as the Teluk Dalam subdistrict, the L- 1, L-2, L-3, and L-4 ex-transmigration areas and the Separi-1 area have also complained about the lack of rainfall. (aan)