THE MINISTER of Agriculture of the Republic of Indonesia Andi Amran Sulaiman today, Thursday 4 April 2024, made a working visit to Sumurbarang Village, Cibogo District, Subang Regency, West Java Province. The visit was in order to check the use of pumping so that farmers might continue to produce and the planting index might increase even amidst the threat of El Nino.
Minister of Agriculture Amran said climate challenges have the potential to make it difficult for farmers to access water supplies and often prevent farmers from producing. For this reason, it is hoped that pumping can help all farmers to continue producing.
“We are giving the opportunity as wide as possible, to the Governor and all the District Heads throughout West Java, in the next two months, how many pumps are needed for upland, because there is a potential of 343,000 hectares, if we can work on this well, we can increase production by 2.5 million tonnes, and the value is 25 trillion, and might increase income here,” explained Minister of Agriculture Amran.
Amran emphasized that water is an important factor that needs to be maintained so that the food production process can continue because the life and death of a nation depends on food issues.
“This is a problem in the people’s stomach, the life and death of a nation depends on its food, that was also Bung Karno’s speech from our First President, in 1953, when the first stone was laid for the Faculty of Agriculture which is now IPB, so what we need to ensure that food is maintained is water, fertilizer “Mechanization technology or agricultural machinery,” stressed Minister of Agriculture Amran.
Minister of Agriculture Amran’s efforts to help farmers through pumping received appreciation and support from the Acting Governor of West Java, Bey Machmudin. According to Bey, it is believed that the pumping program which is being intensified will have a significant impact on increasing agricultural production, especially rice production in his region.
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“Of course we welcome the offer from the Minister of Agriculture and the Head of Agriculture to work immediately today, to coordinate with all City Districts, and we said earlier that it is not only for rain-fed rice fields, but to increase overall production, so we are confident that this year’s target ( West Java rice production) will be achieved, even exceeded,” he explained.
Bey Machmudin revealed, based on data from the local Agriculture Service, Subang Regency is recorded as having a land area of 84,000 hectares, most of which have irrigation problems so they can only plant once a year. The Subang Regent, Imran, said pumping can optimize planting in his area to two even three times a year.
“With this, we are optimizing it so that it is possible for farmers not only to plant and harvest once a year, but also 2 to 3 times,” he said.
Entering the next planting season, Minister of Agriculture Amran is currently intensively distributing pumping to production center areas, especially in the Java area, because pumping is believed to not only be effective in increasing agricultural yields, but has also been proven to provide economic benefits for farmers. The use of pumping allows farmers to optimize the management of water resources appropriately and efficiently. (Z-8)
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