Taking Advantage Of Kemarau, Banyumas Targets To Plant 2,000 Hectare Soybeans

PURWOKERTO - In the 2024 dry season, the Department of Agriculture and Food Security (Dinpertan-KP) of Banyumas Regency, Central Java, targets the soybean planting area to reach 2,000 hectares.

"This soybean is planted during the sadon season (gadu/kemarau, ed.), after planting the second," said Head of the Banyumas Regency Dinpertan-KP Jaka Budi Santosa in Purwokerto, Banyumas, as reported by ANTARA, Saturday, May 4.

However, he acknowledged that some farmers who usually grow soybeans in certain areas, sometimes still see weather conditions to determine whether there is still the potential for rain or there is no rain.

If there is no rain, he said, farmers are trying to ascertain whether there are irrigation canals that can guarantee the availability of water so that the soybean plant can be harvested.

"Therefore, the soybean planting area in Banyumas which has been 2,000 hectares, I hope that this Sadon season can reach 2,000 hectares more with a productivity ranging from 1.5 tons to 1.7 tons per hectare," he said.

Regarding the disparity in local soybean prices with imported soybeans which is quite high, he said it was due to local soybean planting only in certain areas and farmers often hesitate to plant these commodities when weather anomalies occur.

In addition, he said, soybean productivity in Banyumas and other areas in Indonesia is lower when compared to countries in Latin America such as Brazil and Argentina.

"Thus, our farmers who grow soybeans are small and the planted area is small. In addition, our culture of farmers is not used to growing soybeans continuously every year, so that soybean production in Banyumas cannot meet the soybean needs of the Banyumas community," he said.

He said he was grateful because the price of local soybeans was higher than imported soybeans which had been used by tempe and tofu craftsmen.

According to him, this shows that consumers or the Indonesian people can already appreciate the quality of local soybeans, so the price is above imported soybeans.