JAKARTA - Deputy Minister of Agriculture (Wamentan) Sudaryono who also serves as Chairman of the National Leadership Council (DPN) of the Indonesian Farmers' Unity (HKTI) released 10 trucks of humanitarian aid worth more than Rp1 billion for people affected by flash floods and landslides in Pemalang Regency, Central Java, and West Bandung Regency, West Java.
The release of assistance was carried out at the HKTI Office yard, Ministry of Agriculture, as part of the HKTI Peduli program.
A total of five trucks of assistance were sent to Pemalang and five trucks to West Bandung to meet the basic needs of residents in evacuation centers and disaster posts. Assistance is adjusted to field conditions so that it can be immediately utilized by affected communities.
"HKTI wants to ensure that the assistance we send is in accordance with the needs of the people on the ground. The most important thing is how the affected people can be immediately helped, especially for basic food and logistics needs," said Sudaryono at the launch of HKTI's caring assistance to Pemalang and West Bandung and the opening of the HKTI market in Jakarta on February 10.
In Pemalang Regency, assistance was distributed to flood victims in nine villages in Pulosari and Moga Districts. Assistance includes basic food, infant and elderly needs, hygiene supplies, light medicines, and emergency supplies such as raincoats.
Meanwhile, in West Bandung Regency, assistance is distributed through disaster posts with a focus on food, health, and education needs. In addition to basic food and medicine packages, HKTI also distributes 100 school stationery packages to support the learning activities of students affected by the disaster.
Apart from emergency assistance, Sudaryono emphasized that HKTI would also accompany post-disaster rehabilitation, especially in the agricultural sector. Based on the results of field surveys in Pemalang and West Bandung, one of the factors that trigger floods and landslides is the condition of sloping land with little hard crops.
"After this, HKTI does not stop at emergency assistance. We will participate in post-disaster rehabilitation, including replanting damaged rice fields. From our field review, one of the causes of flooding and landslides is sloping land that is not supported by hard plants," explained Sudaryono.
He said that the program to be supervised by HKTI includes the cultivation of hard crops that are planted with horticulture owned by farmers in order to be able to strengthen the soil structure while providing economic value.
"We will monitor the cultivation of hard crops in between horticultural crops. One of them is coffee, because it is suitable for highlands. In addition, fruit plants such as durian and kelengkeng whose roots are deep, so that they can strengthen the soil and still provide economic returns for farmers," he said.
Wamentan Sudaryono added that this step is in line with the government's program in building sustainable and disaster-resistant agriculture. HKTI is committed to continuing to be a partner of the government and the community in the effort to recover the affected areas while strengthening national food security.
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