Affirming Free Agricultural Machine Assistance, Ministry Of Agriculture Asks To Report If Extortion Is Affected

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Agriculture (Kementan) emphasized that agricultural machine equipment assistance (alsintan) is provided free of charge

Director General of Agricultural Infrastructure and Facilities (PSP) of the Ministry of Agriculture Andi Nur Alam Syah asked the public to immediately report if they found illegal levies related to the assistance.

"The Ministry emphasized that all forms of alsintan assistance provided to the beneficiary group are free without any fees and not for sale," he said in his statement, Thursday, November 7, which was confiscated by Antara.

He said that the assistance was given to the farmer community (Poktan/Gapoktan/UPJA) and the provincial/district/city agricultural service Brigade.

The Ministry of Agriculture also responded to the news that a number of farmers who received alsintan assistance in Timurung Village, Ajangale District, Bone Regency, admitted that they were asked for Rp. 3 million in order to get a tractor hand from the Ministry of Agriculture.

Andi emphasized that the Ministry of Agriculture is not responsible for the legal consequences caused if there are parties / individuals who collect and trade in the aid of the deceased.

"If there is a sugar cane fee or something like that, it is the act of an individual. Farmers, if they have information about illegal levies (extortion) related to alsintan, are expected to report it to the authorities," said Andi.

Andi explained that all sources of alsintan financing have been regulated in the General Guidelines forANT Assistance since 2015.

The source of financing for the provision and distribution of alsintan comes from the DIPA Work Unit of the Directorate General of Infrastructure and Facilities of Agriculture in the expenditure of goods (equipment and machinery) to be handed over to the village government and farmers.

"So there is no charge charged to farmers other than fuel and machine maintenance," said Andi.

He explained that the distribution of Central State Budget alsintan assistance was carried out by alsintan providers to the point for the provincial/district/city agricultural sector (according to the contract).

Meanwhile, the collection of alsintan assistance from the provincial/district/city agriculture office to the beneficiaries is the responsibility of the beneficiaries.

"Alsintan assistance for the State Budget for Fiscal Year 2024 which has arrived at the point for the Agriculture Agency so that it is immediately distributed to beneficiaries according to the Decree on the Determination of PPK," said Andi.

To encourage optimization of the use of alsintan assistance and prevent irregularities in the assistance of alsintan in the field, the provincial/district/city agriculture office is requested for assistance and cooperation in order to increase coaching activities, supervision of alsintan and its utilization in its working area.

"This alternative should be used as well as possible to support Food Self-Sufficiency, according to our common goals. With modern agriculture, efforts to increase production can be realized," he said.

In order to optimize the use of APBN alsintan assistance, he continued, the assistance ofANTs that are not optimally utilized by aid recipients (silence) should be relocated to other groups who are more in need.

"The conditions are willing and able to take advantage of the alsintan assistance according to its designation in order to support agricultural development, and the Provincial/Regency/City Agriculture Service is obliged to submit reports on the use of alsintan assistance in stages to us," said Andi.

Previously, Minister of Agriculture Andi Amran Sulaiman said that the disbursement of this alsintan assistance was to change the face of agriculture.

If all this time farming is synonymous with something dirty, then in the future it will no longer be. With alsintan, farmers can immediately process the land in a modern manner.

"We provide modern, non-traditional equipment such as hoes, sickles or the like. Everything is free," said the Minister of Agriculture.