Bye-bye rat poison: USM-Bernas unleash barn owls to help Penang farmers cut costs, boost yields in pilot project

Malay Mail

13-05-2025

SEBERANG PERAI, May 13 — Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) today launched a pilot project together with Padi Beras Nasional Berhad (Bernas) to introduce barn owls as natural pest control for paddy farms in Kepala Batas, Penang.
Banking on the fact that a family of barn owls can kill about 3,000 rats a year, USM's Barn Owl and Rodent Research Group (BORG) is pushing for this sustainable pest control method to be introduced nationwide.
The pilot project will introduce 20 nest boxes to be placed at the paddy farms of B40 farmers in Paya Keladi, Kepala Batas, said Associate Professor Hasber Salim from BORG.
'Barn owls naturally exist around paddy fields but they don't build their own homes so they are always looking for spots that they can turn into nests such as rooftops of houses or holes in tree trunks,' he said at the launch of the project here with Bernas, in collaboration with Global Giving Grant and Corteva Agriscience.
'We found that they need 'hotels' to stay in any location so we built nest boxes that fit their needs to place at these paddy farms,' he added.
He said the nest boxes will attract barn owls and once they set up nests, they will naturally hunt rats in that area.
'One nest of owls can protect an area of up to 500 hectares,' he said.
A young barn owl in one of the nest boxes that will be installed in the paddy fields to attract barn owls. — Picture by Opalyn Mok
He said BORG will also study the effectiveness of placing the nest boxes in this project especially in how the owls control the rat population.
'This is a way to reduce costs for the farmers as they do not need to invest in chemical pesticides such as rat poison to get rid of rats,' he said.
He said rat poison would often cause the death of other animals such as owls and snakes that eat the poisoned rats.
'This is a more sustainable and environmentally safer approach in controlling rats,' he said.
Twenty farmers were selected for the barn owl pilot project. — Picture by Opalyn Mok
In his speech, Bernas supply management senior manager Haslizan Hashim expressed confidence that the project will reduce the farmers' dependency on chemical pesticides.
'This will not only reduce costs for the farmers but also increase yield as a reduction in pests means higher yields,' he said.
He said Bernas is committed to share what it learnt from BORG and to expand this project to all the paddy farms nationwide.
'I believe this project will bring about a significant positive impact to the industry which can protect our food security,' he said.