Minister Of Agriculture Syahrul Yasin Limpo Guarantees Safe Rice Stocks Until The End Of 2020

Minister of Agriculture (Mentan) Syahrul Yasin Limpo. (Photo: Doc. Setkab)

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Agriculture ensures that the national rice stock is at a safe level until the end of this year. Even though it was hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, the agricultural sector still survived and was even able to grow positively until the third quarter of 2020.

Minister of Agriculture Syahrul Yasin Limpo said, in any economic condition, the agricultural sector still exists. Even when other sectors recorded negative growth, this sector grew positively.

"For 2020, we are safe. So the people, God willing, under any circumstances, I have prepared 8 to 9 million tons for 2020," he said, in a virtual discussion, Monday, November 30.

In his presentation, Syahrul said, growth in the agricultural sector made a positive contribution to state income during the pandemic. Based on the records of the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), growth in the agricultural sector reached 16.24 percent in the second quarter of 2020.

Syahrul said, although not as high as the increase in the second quarter of 2020, in the third quarter of 2020 the agricultural sector still recorded an increase of 2.15 percent.

"In the fourth quarter I will try. I will make accelerations," he said.

On the other hand, the value of agricultural exports up to September 2020 was recorded to have increased by 10.12 percent, from Rp.276.59 trillion to Rp.304.57 trillion.

In addition, the farmer exchange rate (NTUP) and the farmer exchange rate (NTP) also experienced an increase of 0.66 percent and 0.58 percent respectively in October 2020.

"In my opinion, as the minister of agriculture, of course the most available thing to lift the Indonesian economy is agriculture," he said.