PRR Task Force for the Rehabilitation of Thousands of Hectare of Rice Fields Affected by the Disaster

JAKARTA - The Post-disaster Acceleration Rehabilitation and Reconstruction (PRR) Task Force for Sumatra continues to accelerate the rehabilitation of rice fields damaged by hydrometeorological disasters in Aceh, North Sumatra (North Sumatra), and West Sumatra (West Sumatra).

Quoted from the statement of the PRR Task Force, this acceleration of rehabilitation is carried out with a land revitalization scheme accompanied by land protection so that it does not change its function, to ensure the sustainability of rice supply and regional food security, as well as accelerating the recovery of farmers' lives.

Minister of Agriculture Andi Amran Sulaiman said his party had conducted data collection and inventory of affected agricultural land, as well as ensuring that productive land remained intact despite the damage caused by the disaster.

He revealed that the government not only focuses on rehabilitating affected land with land revitalization and rice paddies, but is also strengthened with land protection policies so that it does not change function, so that food productivity is maintained.

"Protection of agricultural land in that area is the focus of the government. We have met, we have emphasized that land functions should not be changed, point. And this already has a law, so there should be no more violations," said Amran as reported by ANTARA, Saturday, April 25.

While carrying out the inventory of damaged land, the government also provided agricultural assistance in the form of superior seeds and seeds in parallel. This is done to ensure farmers can immediately return to planting after the disaster.

"All those affected, the government provides assistance, including Aceh, North Sumatra, and West Sumatra. All damaged rice fields are borne by the government," said Amran.

Based on the data of the PRR Task Force on April 24, 2026, it was recorded that out of a total of 42,702 hectares of rice fields that were the target of rice field rehabilitation in the three affected provinces, as much as 2,045 hectares of land had been rehabilitated and 12,126 hectares were still in the process of being handled.

In detail, in Aceh Province, of the 31,464 hectares of rice fields that were the target of rehabilitation, as many as 116 hectares of rice fields were completed. In North Sumatra, of the 7,336 hectares of rice fields that were the target of rehabilitation, as many as 224 hectares were completed. As for West Sumatra, from 3,902 hectares of rice fields that were the target of rehabilitation, as many as 1,705 hectares were completed.

Chairman of the Post-disaster PRR Task Force for Sumatra, Muhammad Tito Karnavian, said that rice field rehabilitation not only focuses on physical recovery of land, but also includes strengthening the legality aspect through updating land data. According to him, this step is important so that land that is again productive has legal certainty and can be optimally utilized by the community.

"Because BPN is under the Minister of ATR/BPN (Nusron Wahid), maybe there needs to be instructions to the ranks to proactively work together with the Regional Government to solve land problems, land boundaries, as well as help with missing certificates," said Tito after the Coordination Meeting of the PRR Task Force Steering Team in Jakarta, Monday (6/4).

He added that local governments were asked to actively coordinate with the local ATR/BPN Regional Office in the process of re-data collection of residents' land. If there are obstacles, the central government will intervene to ensure that all processes run quickly and properly.