Minister of Agriculture Amran: The State Pays Farmers to Restore Rice Fields Affected by the Sumatra Disaster

JAKARTA - Minister of Agriculture Andi Amran Sulaiman emphasized that the state pays farmers through a labor-intensive scheme to restore flooded rice fields affected by disasters in Aceh, North Sumatra and West Sumatra to maintain national food production.

"Through this scheme, farmers not only recover agricultural land, but also earn income during the recovery process," said the Minister of Agriculture as stated in Jakarta, quoted by Antara, Saturday, January 17.

The Minister of Agriculture emphasized that the damaged rice fields in the three regions would be repaired again by directly involving the land owners.

The damaged rice fields were repaired by the owner himself, but the cost was borne by the central government.

"So our brothers have income, while the seeds are helped for free, land processing, irrigation repair are all helped by the center. This is a direct order from the President," he said.

According to him, the concept of intensive work ensures that all rice farmers are actively involved in the rehabilitation process.

They work on their own land and earn enough daily income for their family's needs.

"Daily income is enough for daily needs. Meanwhile, the processing of land, seeds, and irrigation is borne by the central government," he explained.

He said that in Aceh there were around 10,000 hectares of rice fields that had been rehabilitated with a labor requirement of 200,000 working days (HOK) paid daily.

Meanwhile, for accelerated recovery, the government targets land with light to moderate damage categories to be completed within a maximum of three months.

"Especially in Aceh, together with North Sumatra and West Sumatra, which are mild and moderate, a maximum of three months has been completed," said the Minister.

Entering the recovery phase, Minister of Agriculture Amran said the total impact of damage to rice fields due to natural disasters in Aceh, North Sumatra, and West Sumatra, reached 98,002 hectares.

Of the total, Aceh suffered the most extensive damage, namely 54,233 hectares spread across 21 regencies/cities, followed by North Sumatra with an area of 37,318 hectares in 15 regencies/cities, and West Sumatra with an area of 6,451 hectares in 14 regencies/cities.

Of the total area, damage with light to moderate criteria reached 69,240 hectares, consisting of light damage of 48,969 hectares and moderate damage of 20,271 hectares.

The details are, Aceh is 32,652 hectares, North Sumatra 32,964 hectares, and West Sumatra 3,624 hectares.

Specifically in North Aceh Regency, a total of 8,237 hectares of light-moderate damage was recorded, with a breakdown of 5,950 hectares of light damage and 2,287 hectares of moderate damage.

The Ministry of Agriculture prioritizes rehabilitation on land with mild and moderate damage criteria. The work phase is targeted to take place from January to February 2026, with a target of 13,708 hectares of rehabilitation area in three provinces.

The target consists of Aceh with an area of 6,530 hectares, North Sumatra 6,593 hectares, and West Sumatra 3,624 hectares.

"We start from the light and medium, only the last heavy. Around 90 to 95 percent we will finish first," said the Minister.