THE MINISTER of Agriculture (Mentan), Andi Amran Sulaiman, said that the newest superior rice variety from IPB University, called Padi IPB 9G, is an innovation that can support food security in Indonesia.
Minister of Agriculture Amran appreciated this innovation and invited IPB University to collaborate in building national food security together.
“We appreciate what IPB is doing. This is a step that must be developed and we really appreciate the results of this extraordinary research,” explained Minister of Agriculture Amran during a visit to the IPB 9G rice planting location in Lamongan Regency, Friday (19/4).
According to him, apart from having superior productivity and resistance to pests and diseases, the 9G variety from IPB University is also claimed to be able to reduce fertilizer use which can maximize national food security.
Therefore, Minister Amran hopes that this variety can become the main choice for farmers because of its short lifespan and efficiency in using fertilizer.
“This variety can reduce fertilizer use by up to 20 percent. “Imagine, if 100 percent of these seeds were used, we might save up to IDR 10 trillion on fertilizer use for rice plants,” he explained.
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“Today, we will immediately buy 50 tons of these seeds, and if IPB University can produce more, for example 50,000 tons, we will also buy them immediately,” added Amran.
Meanwhile, the Chancellor of IPB University, Professor Arif Satria, explained that the superior IPB 9G rice variety is an amphibious type that can be planted in dry land and rice fields.
“That is its advantage, with productivity between 9 and 11 tons per hectare,” he said.
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He explained that this innovation is one way for Indonesian agriculture to face the threat of climate change, where every year IPB always carries out research and produces superior varieties.
According to Arif, the challenge of climate change can be handled through innovation and technology. Therefore, his party plans to collaborate with all universities in Indonesia to contribute to the future agricultural development of Indonesia.
“We can’t blame climate change, but how can we get around it with technology and innovation. “Therefore, IPB invites all universities in Indonesia to work together with the Ministry of Agriculture and regional governments to achieve food self-sufficiency and make Indonesia a rice exporter in the world,” he said.
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Separately, the Regent of Lamongan, Yuhronur Efendi, revealed that the innovation launched by IPB was a hope for his party to revive agricultural productivity which had fallen due to El Nino.
“In January-March we have harvested. About 46 percent of the total production of more than 330 thousand tons can be milled. This is a good start, because we are committed to continuing to achieve our production target, which yesterday was down due to El Nino, namely 1 million 111 tons,” ” he explained.
With this new innovation, Efendi hopes that Lamongan Regency can maintain its position as the region with the sixth largest rice production in Indonesia.
“We are trying to return to 1.2 million tonnes and place Lamongan as the sixth largest rice producer in Indonesia,” he stressed.
For your information, IPB 9G rice has the potential for higher productivity than several other superior rice varieties and much higher than the productivity of local upland rice which is usually cultivated by farmers.
Another advantage of the IPB 9G variety is that it is amphibious, which is suitable for planting in both dry land and irrigated rice fields. (Z-6)
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