Vegetable farmers in Malaysia brace for lower crop yield as El Nino and haze looms

JOHOR BAHRU: Mr Naviin Thiagaran and his father have been farming long beans, okra and cucumbers for almost five years on a small plot of land in Kota Tinggi, Johor. The pair have grown accustomed to working under sweltering hot conditions as they typically tend to their crops in the morning up till noon. However, it was only last month - amid a heatwave that scorched many parts of the country - that Mr Thiagaran fully realised the potential dangers of working in such conditions. One morning while tending to his crops, the 29-year-old felt unwell and was rushed to hospital for treatment. “The heat during that period was unbearable, nothing like we have experienced before,” said Mr Thiagaran. “I had all kinds of symptoms at one go. I was feverish, (had) muscle ache, nauseous and I felt like I had gastric pain. I could barely walk and just had to lie down,” he added. He was treated for heat exhaustion at a nearby hospital and discharged after three hours of monitoring. Although he ...