Farmers in Muda agricultural development authority (Mada) areas have been urged to minimise paddy straw burning to prevent the state’s Air Pollutant Index (API) readings from going up.

Kedah Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mukhriz Tun Mahathir, said to date, about 44 percent of rice fields in the Mada area had been harvested and straw burning was usually carried out before the paddy replanting process.