BERNAS supports the farmers by supplying the mini combine harvester for harvesting at a minimal cost when machine scarcity threatens timely harvest.

Healthy soil is the basis of sustainable food production. In agriculture, protecting the soil is as important as protecting the crop and the yield. However, the usage of machinery over a prolonged period could be damaging to the land.

In Malaysia, a large combine harvester has long been used for harvesting rice in Malaysia. In recent years, a mini combine harvester has been introduced into this industry as a low-cost alternative to a large combine harvester and, most importantly, as a more soil-friendly machine due to low ground contact pressure.

A small machine with greater impact, the mini-combine harvester fuses four functions in one machine, namely reaping, collecting, threshing and cleaning. The mini combine harvester is an efficient and economical preference for conducting the harvest operation in a rice field.

Some advantages of using the mini combine harvester are:

Pre-conditioning of the land before crop establishment is critical to ensuring good plant growth, effective water management, weed control and an even maturing process, which in turn produces higher and quality yield.

Post application of laser-assisted land levelling activity, the land will be evenly flattened with variation in height minimised to within a few centimetres or even millimetres depending on the specific equipment used and the operator's skill. This level of accuracy will contribute towards better farm development by reducing water usage by nearly 20% or more and consecutively promoting an increase in yield by 10% - 20%. Furthermore, the levelling of land before the cultivation activities is crucial because it sets the efficiency standard for the entire farming activity, including reducing the use of agrochemicals.

Plastic Rice Rumours

Rumours of plastic rice being sold in Malaysia and other countries persist on social media, where users share videos of bouncing rice balls.

Yes, Rice Can Bounce. Why?

Rice naturally is made of one major component, carbohydrates or starch. Therefore, cooked rice starch, which contains both adhesive and cohesive properties, will naturally bounce when made into a ball. The higher the starch content, the bouncier it becomes. This bouncing effect is also an outcome of volume expansion and air entrapment in the cooked rice.

So, not everything that bounces is plastic. We urge our consumers not to panic and not waste their precious rice by bouncing it all over.

• An energy food, supplying nutrient rich complex carbohydrate that fuel the body's physical activity.
• Gluten-free and the most non-allergenic of all grains.
• No additives or preservatives.
• Low in fat, salt and has no cholesterol.
• Low glycemic index

• Whole Kernel: Husked or milled kernel without any broken part, or part of kernel with a length greater than or equal to nine-tenths of the average length of grain.
• Head Rice: Kernels of milled rice of not less than 8/10 of the average length of grain.
• Large Broken: Kernels of milled rice of less than 8/10 and not less than 5/10 of the average length of grain.
• Small Broken: Broken kernels of milled rice of less than 5/10 and not less than 2/10 of the average length of grain.
• Chips: Broken kernels of milled rice of less than 2/10 of the average length of grain