The Muda area which covers 96,000 ha is Malaysia's largest double cropping region, accounting for 34% of the nation's irrigated rice area. Double cropping which was introduced in 1970, was readily adopted by the region's farmers, and technological advances have been rapid by Malaysian standards. The region's agriculture is heavily mechanized in the case of tillage and harvesting while the labor-saving technique of direct seeding has spread to 65% the area.
The period of high yields exceeding 4.5 t/ha in 1979-81 was followed by serious problems of pest and disease infestation resulting in yield decline to 3.1-3.2 t/ha in 1982-84. Problems also include the proper scheduling of irrigation and farm operations to attain the maximum cropping intensity compared to the 175% currently being achieved. To overcome the inadequacy of the present infrastructure with a canal density of only 10 m/ha, a new construction program to increase the density to 35 m/ha has been initiated. This undertaking will result in a significant improvement of the water management capability at the field level and will be the basis of improved productivity in the future. Equally important for cropping stability and yield growth are the improvement of the techniques of direct seeding culture and large scale management of rice pests and diseases.