THE GOVERNMENT is currently continuing to improve several principles of fertilizer subsidy implementation. From initially only talking regarding beneficiaries, subsidy schemes, and subsidy allocation accompanied by data, it has now developed into 6T, namely appropriate use, appropriate target, appropriate time, appropriate price, appropriate type and quality, and appropriate quantity.
“It turns out that in its development we still have not fulfilled these six points. Therefore, we are currently continuing to strive for various improvements,” said the Deputy for Maritime Affairs and Natural Resources of the Ministry of PPN/Bappenas, Vivi Yulaswati at the event Building Subsidized Fertilizer Resilience Policies to Maintain National Food Security on Wednesday (17/7).
Furthermore, Vivi explained that the scope of fertilizer subsidies so far, in terms of the number of farmers, is currently 28 million, of which 72 percent are classified as small-scale farmers.
“Not only in terms of the area of land controlled for agricultural land, but also including those who do not have land. Then the farmers receiving subsidized fertilizer are half, around 14 million farmers,” he explained.
The government, Vivi continued, is currently also improving the e-RDKK data and also the Agricultural Extension Management Information System (Simluhtan) using NIK. The hope is that population data collection including farmers will be better and of course recipients of fertilizer subsidies can be more targeted.
For information, the types of fertilizers available for various types of agricultural commodities are very diverse. The fertilizers subsidized by the government are urea fertilizer and NPK fertilizer.
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Conditions for Farmers Who Are Entitled to Receive Subsidized Fertilizer
Vivi also conveyed the requirements for farmers to receive subsidized fertilizer. The requirements include farmer data must be registered in Simluhtan and in Pupuk Indonesia through e-RDKK, have a farmer card as a valid identity, and farmers must own or operate a plot of land of no more than 2 hectares.
“This is a bit difficult because some of it is done through Gapoktan, which of course these requirements are not fully implemented well and of course commodities that are in accordance with subsidized needs,” he said.
With these various problems, the government has now begun to design a transformation of fertilizer subsidy policy, which of course is also one of the transformations carried out in the context of food transformation.
Also read: Ensure that subsidized fertilizers are right on target, the Ministry of Agriculture continues to socialize Permentan 1/2024
“We want to-reform subsidies from goods to people, so we call it direct farmer assistance, this is the direction of the President. Then it is done through transfers direct cashthen group-based recipients become individual-based recipients, this is of course by name by address we are very dependent on data,” he explained.
“Next is site specific according to the conditions of land requirements and the needs of the type of commodity and of course emphasizing the impact on production, productivity and of course sustainability,” he continued.
Some of the expected impacts of the transformation towards direct farmer assistance are efficiency of distribution, then farmer productivity. The government is currently also discussing that later not only urea and NPK fertilizers will be subsidized, but also other types of fertilizers such as organic fertilizers.
On the other hand, through the approach direct transferthe government wants to enlarge financial inclussion both economically and financially and of course the wiser use of fertilizers so that soil health can preserve the condition of the earth.
“Therefore, regenerative agriculture including sustainable agriculture are ways that we need to push in the future as part of food transformation,” he said. (Fal/Z-7)
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