Land Abandonment in the Rice Sector: An Economic Analysis

Land abandonment is a serious problem to the agricultural sector, especially that of the rubber and rice sectors. In the rice sector, the problem persists not only in the traditional rice growing areas but also in the highly irrigated schemes. Logit analysis was conducted to identify the major causes for rice farming abandonment in the MUDA and KEMUBU irrigation schemes. In the MUDA scheme, farm size, lack of labour, competition from imported rice and cost of production are highly correlated to rice farming abandonment; while for the KEMUBU scheme, the major causes seemed to be farm size, age of farm operators, off-farm income, level of education, competition from imported rice and soil suitability. Measures toward minimizing or eradicating rice farm abandonment problem would not be effective unless farmers are offered a reasonably high farm-gate price for their padi harvest. In view of better offers from the off-farm employments, it is therefore important that rice farmers are assured of incomes that are comparable to those of other sectors.