P3TGAI Ministry Of Public Works' Labor Intensive Program In NTB 3,980 Workers

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Public Works (PU) is expanding the implementation of a labor-intensive program to Accelerate the Increase in Irrigation Water Administration (P3TGAI) as an effort to support food self-sufficiency which is a priority for the Government of President Prabowo Subianto.

Especially in West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) Province, the phase 1 P3TGAI program is spread across 282 locations with a target of absorbing 3,980 workers.

Based on e-monitoring data as of September 23, 2025, the average P3TGAI physical work achievement in NTB has reached more than 70 percent, with labor absorption according to the target of 3,980 people or the equivalent of 119,370 working days (HOK).

Head of the Center for River Region (BBWS) Nusa Tenggara I Directorate General of Water Resources of the Ministry of Public Works Eka Nugraha Abdi said the program was entirely for the community.

In addition to strengthening food security, Eka said, P3TGAI also provides direct benefits to rural communities through labor-intensive systems, which create jobs as well as drive local economies.

"P3TGAI's activities are purely for the community and the center is only monitoring. Management and work are carried out directly by the community, so that the benefits are more pronounced," said Eka in his statement, quoted Thursday, September 25.

With the repair of tertiary irrigation canals, it is hoped that the distribution of water to agricultural land will be smoother, so that productivity will increase.

One of the beneficiaries of the P3TGAI program in NTB is in Perung Village, Turtlek District.

Perung Village Head Syafruddin said the program was very helpful for the community.

"More than 75 percent of our total 3,074 residents are farmers, with agricultural land of around 300 hectares. In the past, every planting season we had to work together to repair land channels that often broke, now the canal is permanent with stone pairs, much more secure," he said.

Meanwhile, one of the farmers of Perung Village, Suwardi, felt that the benefits of getting a better irrigation water flow immediately.

He also conveyed that he received additional income because he worked as a handyman in channel construction.

"Before there was a rock pair, the water always seeps to the left-right, so it is wasted a lot. Now the flow is smoother to the fields. Alhamdulillah, I also get additional income from work as a handyman in this project," he said.

As for the 2025 fiscal year (TA), the Ministry of Public Works allocated a budget of IDR 1.8 trillion to realize the P3TGAI program in 8,000 locations.

Untuk diketahui, P3TGAI merupakan pekerjaan peningkatan saluran irigasi tersier dari saluran tanah menjadi saluran pasangan batu, yang dikerjakan langsung oleh petani atau masyarakat desa dengan sistem upah.

Rata-rata saluran dibangun sepanjang 300 meter dengan masa kerja sekitar 75 hari.

Program padat karya tersebut menjadi salah satu upaya pemerintah dalam mendistribusikan anggaran langsung hingga ke desa, memperkuat ekonomi lokal sekaligus menjaga kesinambungan produksi pangan nasional.

To note, P3TGAI is the work of increasing the tertiary irrigation canal from the ground channel to the stone pair channel, which is done directly by farmers or rural communities with a wage system.

The average channel is built along 300 meters with a working period of about 75 days.

The labor-intensive program is one of the government's efforts to distribute the budget directly to villages, strengthen the local economy while maintaining the sustainability of national food production.