For more than three decades, a brother and sister in rural Kelantan have quietly kept alive a family farming tradition, tending the same small plot of land their forefathers once cultivated.
Every morning before the heat becomes unbearable, Kamariah and Azmi Sidik make their way to a small plot of land in Kampung Jelutar, Kuala Krai, Kelantan, arriving by 7am and stopping around 11am before the midday sun makes the work unbearable.
They have been doing this for more than 30 years on the same 0.2-hectare farm their forefathers left behind, growing groundnuts and corn, the same crops the family has always grown on that land, with their children lending a hand whenever they can.
They are determined to keep the family’s farming tradition alive, and for now, the land is still giving them enough to support themselves.
Kamariah is 67 and Azmi is 69, and the work has not gotten easier with age, but neither of them complained.
What they grow and what they earn
Groundnuts take just over three months to harvest, and corn comes in at around two and a half months, with Kamariah selling groundnuts at RM7 per kg and corn at RM1 for a cob. The income varies with each harvest, but it has been enough to cover their daily needs.
As reported by FMT, citing Bernama, Kamariah said the work itself is not as difficult as it might look from the outside. “Thank God, it’s enough for our daily needs,” she said.
“Growing groundnuts and corn aren’t too difficult. We just need to make sure the crops receive enough fertiliser and keep the weeds under control.”
For Kamariah, farming is something the family has always done, a responsibility she and her brother share without needing to discuss it.
The land belonged to their forefathers, and it belongs to them now, and as long as they are able, they intend to keep it productive.
What gets in the way
The bigger challenges are the ones they cannot control. Caterpillars, ants and rats regularly threaten the crops, and prolonged dry spells make irrigation a constant struggle.
The farm sits near a river, which should make watering the land straightforward, but during the dry season the water level drops too low to draw from, leaving the siblings to manage on their own until the rain returns. It is one of the reasons Azmi has been hoping the authorities will step in.
Azmi hopes the authorities will consider providing subsidies for a water pump, a grass-cutting machine and fertiliser, practical tools that would reduce their operating costs and make it easier to keep caring for land that has supported their family for generations.
These are requests born out of the simple reality of two people in their late sixties trying their best to sustain a farm passed down to them through generations.
Malaysia’s food supply does not run on large plantations alone. It runs on local farmers like Kamariah and Azmi, and there are far more of them out there than most people realise.
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Read also: ‘I gave up my family to pursue my dreams’ Shares 34 YO M’sian woman – In Real Life
https://inreallife.my/i-gave-up-my-family-to-pursue-my-dreams-shares-34-yo-msian-woman/
‘I gave up my family to pursue my dreams’ Shares 34 YO M’sian woman
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